'Discussions are ongoing' on first trial clubbing event, spokesperson for Minister Martin confirms

Culture
11 Jun 21

The nightlife industry and fans have been left in the lurch following the closure of Jam Park, which resulted in the cancellation of the first club night in Dublin since 2019.

A trial clubbing event is still in the works for Dublin this July following the closure of Jam Park.

The Swords venue was set to bring young people back to the dancefloor this July but the event has since been put on hold following the closure of the cultural venue.

A statement on the Jam Park website said the venue was forced to close one week prior to reopening due to being unable to come to an agreement regarding their lease.

"To be told this news one week before we reopen is a bitter pill to swallow, maybe if we’d have been told 6-12 months ago it would have been easier to accept. But the game is the game. Now we need to find somewhere else to play," they said.

They added that all events booked for the summer would be cancelled, including the trial clubbing event announced by Taoiseach Michael Martin on May 28th.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said, "The Minister was disappointed to hear of the closure of the Jam Park as this was to be one of the pilot events to inform the reopening of the live events industry. A new location for that event has not yet been confirmed but discussions are ongoing and it is hoped to make an announcement shortly".

However Sunil Sharpe, a spokesperson for the Give Us The Night campaign said that the closure of Jam Park highlighted the lack of large spaces in the city to accommodate large scale clubbing events.

"We could be looking at club music largely existing within small to midsized venues for some time now, which isn't necessarily all bad, but I'd really hope to see more warehouse and industrial spaces start to come into use as the next step of change. That's what the city needs most for large dance events, spaces that truly suit the music," Sharpe said.

Sharpe also said that taking the Covid-19 vaccine programme into the consideration, trial club nights throughout Ireland for venues of all sizes should be considered, especially for venues that may be seen as more challenging in relation to size and ventilation.

Trial events held in the UK in April and May did not cause any detectable increase in Covid-19 cases.

More than 13,000 people in Liverpool attended two nightclub events, a music festival and a business conference during the trial series.

"Many venues, pubs and restaurants are investing in better air purity systems, so it's important that they're soon given the opportunity to trade indoors, or in the case of clubs, to be at least able to test ahead of reopening hopefully by the last quarter of 2021. There has to be a proper plan now, the industry can't afford to stay shut indefinitely or we're going to see more venues shut permanently," Sharpe said.

Details for where the first trial club night will take place are yet to be released.