‘Like Covid never happened’ – Ibiza reopens
On this warm June night, the pandemic is a distant memory.
“It is like Covid never happened inside here,” said Michelle, a 31-year-old British healthcare worker at the entrance to the club, which is packed with 3,500 people.
After being closed for two years because of Covid-19, the Mediterranean island’s famous mega-clubs have reopened their doors, drawing throngs of partygoers.
“It has exceeded our expectations,” said Paloma Tur, the spokeswoman for Grupo Pacha which runs the hulking white nightclub that includes a rooftop terrace and garden.
“We still can’t say for certain that the numbers will be better than 2019, but everything indicates yes.”
As in many other venues, almost all of the famous nightclub’s 150 staff received help from a government furlough scheme during the pandemic when Pacha was shut.
Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for 84 percent of Ibiza’s gross domestic product, for which clubbing is a major draw. The health crisis was “a real disaster”, said Juan Miguel Costa of the island’s tourism board.
The pandemic affected all sectors but the leisure sector — which employs over 3,000 people directly and indirectly — was the last to fully open up after virus restrictions were lifted.
Source: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220623-like-covid-never-happened-ibiza-s-nightclubs-reopen
Photo: AFP
