Germany's ‘oldest and biggest' gay nightclub declares bankruptcy

The Guardian

7 hours ago

Germany's oldest and biggest gay dance club has declared itself bankrupt after near half a century in business, falling victim to inflation and an evolving party culture threatening Berlin's nightlife.
Management troubles and dating apps were among the factors putting SchwuZ on the ropes last year and in May the club shortened its opening hours, laid off staff and asked regulars for help to plug a growing shortfall, to little avail.
On Thursday, the management team posted on Instagram: 'SchwuZ has filed for insolvency. But: we don't want to give up!'
The post noted SchwuZ's integral role in Berlin's LGBTQ+ scene since it was founded in Kreuzberg in 1977, helping two years later to launch the Christopher Street Day parade and the queer magazine Siegessäule.
'For nearly 50 years, SchwuZ has been more than just a club. It's a second living room. A place for queer art, community, family, resistance,' it said. 'Many of us have found what we were looking for here: a home, our chosen family, and freedom.'
SchwuZ, which is short for SchwulenZentrum or gay centre, moved to a much larger space with capacity for 1,000 revellers in fashionable Neukölln in 2013, which may have been the beginning of the end.
This year the club has had a deficit each month of €30,000-€60,000 (£26,000-£52,000), with income on a downward slide, the public broadcaster RBB reported.
SchwuZ's managing director, Katja Jäger, said an ailing economy, an ageing core clientele and the creeping crisis in the Berlin club scene had all taken their toll.
Surging rents and electricity prices have threatened to put many beloved Berlin hotspots out of business after a shortlived post-Covid revival, in a gloomy phenomenon known as Clubsterben (the death of clubs).
In May SchwuZ had to let go of 33 employees – about a third of its staff, many of them long-serving – and cut back on professional drag shows. A crowdfunding campaign collected only €3,000 of a €150,000 goal.
The club has now staged a last-ditch bid for supporters to rally behind it 'for future queer generations who need a place that uplifts, empowers and makes them visible'.
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The social media post drew an outpouring of solidarity, with the drag star and political activist Gloria Viagra vowing: 'We can do it together …!!!!' Other commentators, however, complained about an outdated music playlist and steep prices at the door.
SchwuZ hopes to stay open until October when the insolvency hearings will begin, RBB reported.
The dying nightclub scene in Berlin has become increasingly pronounced in the last year. Busche Club, a historic gay and lesbian dance spot, closed last weekend after four decades, blaming rising operation costs. Busche was founded in 1988 in communist East Berlin and developed an image as the 'anti-Berghain' – a party hotspot catering for an international crowd.
On New Year's Eve, Watergate, an upmarket riverside institution and part of the electronic music scene, closed after 22 years, citing a range of challenges including inflation, a growing preference for outdoor music events, high DJ wages and a drop in budget flights to Berlin.
The techno club Wilde Renate, which offers open-air and indoor dancing, has announced plans to shut at the end of the year after a protracted struggle with a property magnate over its lease.
The planned extension of the A100 motorway poses a further threat to several popular clubs around Ostkreuz railway station, prompting protests for Berlin's centre-right government to abandon construction.
Emiko Gejic, a spokesperson for the Club Commission lobby group, said: 'Clubs are an important part of the city's DNA … but also an economic factor.'