BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Battered by the pandemic, Berlin\u2019s legendary nightclubs are starting to reopen. Sort of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several of the German capital\u2019s nightspots have managed a limited restart along with pubs and restaurants over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clubs are opening their outdoor spaces to guests only as beer gardens or for small concerts and performances, provided the party people present a negative COVID-19 test or a vaccination certificate. But the days of hammering beats, pumping basslines and expressively dressed patrons dancing until early morning are still shut down in one of the global hot spots of vibrant nightlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pamela Schobess represents the interests of Berlin club, party and cultural event organizers as a member of the board of the Berliner Club Commission. \u201cWe are allowed to do gastronomy at the moment, so we can have beer gardens and things like that. We can also do small concerts, but everything seated, everything with distance, with mask and hygiene rules,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a start, but it\u2019s not club culture,\u201d Schobess said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performers, guests and owners said they were excited to be open again. But standing about outside with a drink isn\u2019t really clubbing, those attending reopened clubs conceded over the weekend. Many are still hoping that infection numbers will continue to decline and the vaccination campaign will go forward to be able to also hold outdoor events with dancing soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Wilde Renate club, the disco ball swung outside in the late afternoon sunlight. For patrons like Konstantin Karl, 24, who stopped in on Saturday night, better than nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a strange feeling, it\u2019s been a really long time, \u201c he said. \u201dOf course I\u2019m happy that you can do something again, and get out again for once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drag queen Cupcake, who is originally from Lebanon and came to Berlin since 2017, had to perform outside but savored the opportunity: \u201cEveryone is excited about going out, I mean, I went out yesterday (Friday).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xenia Abena Wiederkehr, events manager at \u201cWilde Renate\u201d club, said that the partial opening \u201cis very important to us. First of all, it\u2019s just nice to be able to do something as a team again. Secondly, our club is not only a club, but also a platform, we work with collectives that do parties, but also performances. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd the platform just disappeared during the pandemic, and now that we can open the beer garden again, that\u2019s also possible again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Representatives of the club scene have welcomed the German parliament\u2019s decision on May 7 that clubs and live venues with a demonstrable cultural connection will no longer be defined as places of entertainment, like brothels or gambling halls, but as cultural venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe categorization now as cultural facilities opens a lot more possibilities,\u201dSchobess said. \u201cWe can also open clubs more or less in all regions of the cities in the future. And it is, of course, a great recognition for the work we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schobess says that clubs do cultural work that is just as valuable as that of theaters or opera houses \u2014 and that this now is finally being recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question remains as to when clubbers will be able to party in clubs the way they used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schobess explained that club culture at a distance is practically impossible indoors, and that owners need a solution that will only be possible once infections numbers have significantly dropped and vaccination numbers clearly increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cClub culture only works without distance. And that\u2019s where we need to get to,\u201d Schobess said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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