Ibiza Opening Parties 2010

It’s been a long and very cold winter waiting for Ibiza’s party season to kick off, but after one hell of a jam-packed opening weekend, Ibiza’s 2010 party season has well and truly begun!

True to form, IbizaCalling.com was there to see in the season in style, here’s what went on…

Saturday 29 May: Luciano & Friends Ushuaia Opening Party

Ushuaia has made a sturdy reputation for being one of the coolest beach bars to lounge and party at in Ibiza, and with Luciano hosting their opening party on the Saturday, this served as a perfect way to ease yourself into the Ibiza opening parties.

After a few technical problems lead it to open a little later than planned (who can complain when you can lounge at the cute beach bar just moments from it’s door?), Ushuaia soon filled up with glamourous party-goers fresh-faced and ready for what lay ahead.

With the standard Ushuaia weekend door policy, the crowd was well-dressed and the VIP area well guarded, but whilst the afternoon was all about being seen, the evening here was about one thing only – the music – and with a line-up including Reboot, Michel Cleis, Robert Dietz and of course Luciano himself, why would it be about anything else.

Saturday 29 May: Zoo Project presents Gala Night Opening Party

Elsewhere in the hills of Ibiza… Gala Night had opened and the animals were out in force.

Zoo Project stormed Ibiza last year so the Zoo clan were the obvious choice to host Gala Night’s (otherwise known as the abandoned zoo) opening party. It was clear to see that many of those in the queue had spent all winter planning their outfits too - from a spattering of leopard print, to all-over body paint, to wigs and loin-cloths… it was the people who hadn’t made an effort that really stood out.

With the Seal Pit not getting busier until the sun had almost disappeared, it was the DJ box around the poolside that commanded all the attention – and rightly so, as the pumped out some deep house in the blearing sunshine.

Back around the seal pit and the Zoo performers were back too, with carioca dancers, gorgeous girls in next-to-nothing, and tribal dancers lending themselves perfectly to the animalistic vibe and keeping the heaving crowd well and truly entertained.

System of Survival played a deep house set with a solid tune selection, but sensing the crowd were after something a little bit more driving, Michael James stepped in for the last hour and upped the ante, with a tune selection that kept the animals packed into the pit until midnight.

With the official Zoo Project opening on June 19th, we’ve been told that 2010 can expect to see a new indoor area opening called The Bunker as well as a terrace for their indoor club, and Zoo carry-ons at Privilege on a Sunday night.

Sunday 30 May: Space The Weekend Invasion

Space has always acted as the unofficial signifier for the start of the Ibiza clubbing season and broke all tradition by this year holding it’s opening party across two days. With an obviously more underground line-up on the Sunday and the promise of the Flight Deck being open (the car park to us mere mortals), Sunday was the one for us.

As long as the sun was shining, the Flight Deck was the obvious place to party – there’s something magical about partying underneath the Ibizian sun.  As we arrived, Wally Lopez had the crowds gearing up for Space resident and all-time favourite Carl Cox who played both outside and in the Discoteca to close the party later on that evening.

This year saw the DJ positioned high, halfway up an LED wall and surrounded by dancers. Come sundown, the LED wall was entrancing and the DJ barely visible amongst the display.

The crowd was heaving with happy clubbers all night, but not unbearably so, and everyone was in high spirits (Except the bar staff who were noteably beyond rude). Come midnight, the see of clubbers moved instantaneously inside trampling anyone that got in their way and a few stragglers gave up for the night, but in we went for the remainder of the evening.

With Kehakuma on the Terraza boasting a line-up including Nick Curly, Tiefschwarz, Radio Slave and Guy Gerber, it almost seemed like an obvious choice to stay there, but with the likes of Glimpse and Pascal Feos finishing off in the Discoteca, the remainder of the night was spent flitting between the two rooms in a club that stayed packed with eager clubber rights until the bitter end. A special mention goes to Glimpse who played a rip-roaring set in the main room, and Guy Gerber who tore up the terrace. Thankfully not overlapping, these guys kept the crowd spellbound and made sure that nobody even thought about leaving.

True to form, the opening party did see some casualties, with more than a few clubbed-out party goers having to be carried out to waiting medical staff, but overall the vibe was cool and the tone is set for the oncoming season.

Running over two days and breaking their tradition of opening at midday was a massive risk for Space, who’s opening parties have become somewhat of an institution for the revered clubber, but with a staggering 60-something DJs playing over 7 arenas for the full weekend, Space once again has marked it’s territory as THE biggest opening party on the Ibiza calendar – we love you Space!

Monday 31 May: Circo Loco DC10 ‘New Era’ Opening Party

After a quiet season leaving a huge gaping hole in Monday daytimes, it seemed that the whole of Ibiza descended on DC10 to make sure they were there to witness the re-opening of this long-stood institution.Never one to disappoint, Circo Loco delivered a top line-up, with the likes of Clive Henry, Matthias Tanzmann, Raresh and Tania Vulcano storming the terrace, and DJ W!ld, Damian Lazarus, and Cirillo inside – to name a few.

With everybody having the same idea to get down their early, DC10 was packed within a matter of hours, with everybody getting in as early as they could to make sure that they managed to catch a slice of the action JUST in case it got shut down later – always a risk with old faithful DC10. Needless to say, it didn’t… thank god.

Clive Henry delivered a storming set, that set the tone for the rest of the day and reminded everyone really why they were there. By the time that Dyed Soundorom + Dan Ghenacia came on, the place was packed and moving in unison, hands in the air, smiles on faces and of course with the few obligatory clown wigs bopping about too.

Come sundown and the courtyard had become a carpet of people enjoying some fresh air and buzzing about the day gone and night ahead. Yes, it was definitely too busy for anyone’s tastes and the heat inside was almost unbearable, but Circo Loco was definitely back and this can only be a good thing, a great thing, a new era for Circo Loco and for Ibiza.

Circo Loco, back at DC10 every Monday…

Tuesday 1 June: Fuse Ushuaia Opening Party

East London’s most popular Sunday daytime party hit Ibiza in style last year, but with it’s home Delano’s promising closure for 2010, this year saw Fuse find itself a new home in Ushuaia – and what an amazing place to move.

Opening the day after DC10 could have been fatal for the party, but proved to work in their favour, drawing in the Circo Loco casualities and bringing them back to life with good vibes and good music. With the Fuse crew only flying in the day previously after a storming bank holiday party at 93 Feet East on the Sunday, everyone was pumped and ready for action.

After arriving just before sundown, the venue was already packed – surprising really considering that for some people this may have been their fifth or sixth day of partying on the trott – but you wouldn’t know it form looking at the crowd who looked to have plenty more still in them.

With Fuse residents Enzo Siragusa and Nima Gorji pumping out their distinctive fusic sound, the crowd, consisting of a host of Fuse regulars, friends, family and eager newcomers, were hands-in-the-air happy and in for the long haul. Never ones to disappoint, they paved the way beautifully for headliner tINI, who had played two days earlier at the London bank holiday party and tore Ushuaia apart with a set full of energy and spot-on for those still going from the night before.

The great thing about Fuse is that it always delivers consistently good crowds, amazing music and a pure, unadulterated, hedonistic vibe. Secondly, it’s absolutely free, which is such a rareity in Ibiza these days and is always more than appreciated. And with their decision to revert back to monthly parties for this season, we’ve got a feeling that 2010 will be be Fuse's year. After all, Tuesdays are Fusedays...

And so that was us all opening-partied out for now, but with a whole host of opening parties going on over the next few weeks and even into July, Ibiza still has a lot left to give...

Words: Kat Perriam

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