Ibiza Ravers to Be Oppressed by 6:30 AM Club Closing Time [Updated]

Ibiza has for decades been famous as a haven for dance music culture, and the attendant tourism turned the island from one of the poorest to the richest regions in Spain by Y2K, according to an Economist report. But yesterday its Council of Mayors threw a wrench in the revelry by voting that next year, clubs must abide by a closing time of 6:30 AM.

On its face, it doesn’t sound so oppressive—even wilding, sleepless New Yorkers don’t enjoy the privilege of staying in bars and clubs past sunrise. But Ibiza clubs’ ability to stay open into 8 AM even spawned a whole subgenre of DJing—the Sunrise Session—plus, as an educated guess, I bet revelers who’ve been in the club/bar since 3 or 4 AM are spending the most around like 7. Not that I know from experience, but.

As Fact notes, under the new law, beachside clubs must close much earlier—by 3 AM, a full hour before bars are required to close in New York. Bars in Ibiza must now close at 5 AM. That said, there is little doubt that people who actually live on Ibiza and have been listening to open-air Paris Hilton DJ sets year-round will be happy about this development—while Ibiza tourism has had a profound economic impact on the island, it’s also had a negative one on its environment and civic resources.

UPDATE: as a friendly male explained to me in a kind and not eyerolly way on Twitter, 6:30 is actually one half hour later than the previous mandated closing time, and so ravers are actually being less oppressed than more. Still, the fact that they are not allowed to stay open 24 hours a day seems like the next hurdle. We will not be free until that occurs.