Berlin (AFP) – Germany’s largest LGBTQ club SchwuZ announced on Thursday the venerable Berlin institution’s lights will turn off for good on November 1, making it the latest casualty of the German capital’s nightlife recession. Where Berlin was once famed for its round-the-clock revelry and pounding techno parties, the city’s nightclubs have been fighting to stay afloat as soaring prices, rising rents, and changing tastes hammer the industry.
“Unfortunately, we have to tell you that SchwuZ will shut its doors,” the club, which had previously declared bankruptcy, wrote on Instagram. Besides its mammoth 1,600 square metres (17,200 square feet) of concrete rooms and dancefloors, SchwuZ was considered the oldest gay club in Germany, founded in 1977. After declaring bankruptcy in July, the club appealed to the city’s LGBTQ community to “come back to party” to avoid the venue closing for good and raised more than 52,000 euros ($60,000) in donations through a fundraising appeal. That, however, fell far short of the 300,000 euros the club had set as an initial target to help it stay alive.
Even before declaring itself bankrupt, SchwuZ had already let go of around 30 of its 100 employees. After “intensive discussions” with “potential investors, no party has been found that wishes to take over and continue SchwuZ in its current state, or that can raise the necessary funds,” the club explained.
Speaking to AFP in September, SchwuZ’s director Katja Jaeger said that the club had seen a significant fall in profits since 2024, leading to a 50,000 euro a month shortfall. Among other factors, Jaeger said clubbers were hit by the rising cost of living, partying less often, and being tighter with their wallets when they do. “Before, the regulars came here each weekend, maybe twice. Now, they will come maybe once a month,” the director said.
Besides SchwuZ, Griessmuehle, Remise, and Watergate are among the other Berlin venues to have turned the lights off for good as the “club death” phenomenon grips the German capital. In late 2024, Berlin’s Clubcommission, which represents the capital’s clubs, warned that 46 percent of its members were considering closing within a year.
© 2024 AFP
