Every Ibiza enthusiast worth their salt has been harping on about Space's final closing bash ever since the cheers roared through the iconic institution at last year's season farewell. From the moment it was confirmed that Space's lease would be up after 27 incredible years of the kind of partying that has scorched the souls of thousands, we knew Sunday 2 October was going to go down as a mammoth session that'd be logged in clubbing history books. Grandchildren will be regaled with tales taken directly from the dance floor, and while exaggerations will no doubt be chucked in for extra effect, there's no taking away from the fact it will be epic.
As this isn't just any closing party, we'll all be arriving with a heavy bag of expectations, but we must acknowledge that for the clubbing fiends who've spent countless sleepless nights and early mornings within its doors and remember the days when the terrace was roofless, they'll be expecting a raucous rave spiced with nostalgia.
We'll be perched tall with gratitude for what the club's owner, Pepe Roselló, has bestowed upon us for over two decades and while it's a no-brainer that we'll be getting our socks wet to a catalogue of serious good tunage, there are plenty more moments we're gagging to see in the 20-odd hours of Space's climactic send-off. Here's our wishlist of things that would make this incredible event even more extra special.
Outlandish Production
Fast rewind to 1995 and you had podium dancers wielding laser beam swords, fire dancers in Satanic attire, swings and cages hung from the ceiling, and all sorts of mad outfits. That kind of madness hasn't left Space - you only have to have experienced nights like elrow, Glitterbox and La Troya to witness an ambushing of visual goods - but we're expecting chaotic scenes that our eyeballs won't be able to digest in one panoramic glance. Are the old production props stored away in some out of this world storage cupboard? Who knows, but surely they haven't been destroyed. We strongly foresee that we'll be wandering around with childlike wide eyes, gaping mouths and "check that out!" will be an abused sentence by the time we hit noon on Monday.
Vintage Memorabilia
We're complete and utter suckers for raking through relics of the past, especially in the case of the beloved White Isle. Pictures and videos are constantly picked up by music press and shoved in front of our faces to remind us of Ibiza's formative years in the dance music machine. Posters today are still ripped from walls and windows to adorn our bedrooms like diehard fanboys, and in an age where competition is particularly rampant among promoters, artwork is slick. However, staring at the old designs of seasons past absorbs our imaginations through a tunnelled time portal into the heady golden years. It'd be fantastic to see some of the old shots and promoter material pinned across the walls in museum-esque style for both the seasoned old schoolers and the fresher new timers to feel like they're literally dancing through the years.
Maximum Plane Cheering
What set Space apart from the pack was the early morning sessions when La Terraza was roofless and incoming aircraft roared overhead to signal the arrival or the departure of Ibiza victims. There was, and still is, something rewardingly energising from the thunder of those engines hitting your eardrums over the booming big tunes. DC-10 in its position of being bang at the end of the airport runway might have similar mileage in cheering on the planes, but Space had it first. We don't need to reiterate that the closing will be the last time we'll be getting into our sweatboxes with a hundred-odd people descending to join us, and as we'll be in there for 24 hours, think how many planes will be in for a united “YAAAAAAS.” Cheer session aplenty. Bring on those jets.
Hierbas Chupito Spill
Here's another that involves invading the good old days and one that we're fiercely eager to see. For those who don't know, hierbas (pronounced yerra-bus) has been spilt down gullets on Ibiza for over two centuries. It's synonymous with the island and Ibizan people, and as it's packed with wild herbs, Ibicencs swear that it's loaded with health-improving benefits. So, in that case, let's load them onto our trays and get swigging. Our hopes are pinned on Pepe digging deep to stockpile on this local goodness and handing out the hierbas medicine for every Space troop on the dance floor. As much as we're there to show him gratitude for including us lot in his visions for what Ibiza clubbing should be, he's going to want to repay it back to the punters who made it and free chupitos will be very kindly received.
Old School Celebs & Island Icons
Included in the army of Space zealots is a long line-up of the rich and famous. You had international sports stars chucked in with supermodels, movie stars and musicians, who all loved it here because they were granted a temporary state of anonymity. While they might have been ridiculously gifted or dazzling on the eye, clubbers didn't go in with autograph books – they were there to dance and that was it – in the beginning, there was no VIP section and they were spine to spine with the rest of us. Diego Maradona was once seen cracking out the skills and playing keepy-uppies with a Coke can on the old Space terrace, and that was one excellent moment. There's got to be plenty of adoring Space fans from within that world that'll be flocking as feverously as the rest of us for the final downpour of dance floor damage. Let's hope some will still shun the VIP pit and get deep inside the crowds. And from global celebrities to the local heroes, this little island has its own, self-contained celebrity with one of those being Pippi Sol, also known as Pippi the Panda Lady. Regular Ibiza visitors will know the myths and legends surrounding Pippi Sol - whether they're true or false doesn't really matter - her and others are an intrinsic part of Ibiza's magic allure and we want to see them in there givin' it big licks.
Rest Up and Refresh
Doors open at 4.30 PM and are going to be revolving with punters rolling in on different shifts. The vast majority of us will want to be in there for the daylight action in the car park and by equal measure, we'll be pushing our mettle to make it all the way through to see daylight again and hear the last tune disseminated around noon. We can pump ourselves with all sorts of energetic supplements, but there will be a point when we're all needing a chillout and recuperation. If you were there or have seen snaps from yonder years you'll have seen the bamboo chairs out on the Sunset Terrace and sliced-up fresh fruit on offer to do the job. These moments are vital and we're bargaining our chips on this tradition being reinstated to get the juices reflowing.
Roof Teardown
Slightly fantastical maybe, but how excellent would it be if the bulldozers came in and tore down the roof that stole a little of Space's original essence. Sure, Space is still special, however, you only have to have been in the company of some of the old schoolers to hear them wax lyrical about that period to feel like you missed out. Wouldn't it be great to unite the clubbers with those memories and the others who haven't had the privilege and experience it altogether? Yes, yes it would. Bring in the positive destruction for a ravey reconstruction.
Weird and Wonderful Getups
One of the things you hone right in on when you see old footage of clubbing in Ibiza is the level of individualism in the fashion statements. Man, they went for it in the striking stakes, and we're after seeing some mad-ass threads out there again. People have been preparing the outfits since the season began, shipping stuff in online and pushing how adventurous or brazen they can get. Embellished top hats, bondage threads, Victorian-era corsets, glitter jumpsuits, lycra, chainmail – you name it, we welcome it all. It's not too optimistic to hope that some will have held onto some fancy wear they wore back in the day and have been waiting for an opportunity to retrieve it from their personal time capsule. But if you've not had the foresight for that, take your cue from prolific performance artists, Foc I Fum, who've been entertaining clubbers with their mystical moves and daring outfits since the very beginning of Space. Hopefully, they'll be showing up on the day to show us how it's done, too.
Car Park Expansion
Space's car park sessions at the openings and closings are beastly. Miss out on the outdoor action in front of that big stage and you've cut a key element of what these parties have to offer the clubbing specimens of our planet. The presence of that stage out in the open-air has you feeling like you are bang in the middle of a music festival and we like that rather a lot. As it's the final car park offering, could it be stretched beyond the previous confines, making it an even bigger beast of a day to night session outside sniffin' that fresh Ibiza air? Who knows, but we're sitting here hoping.
Pepe Roselló
And to use the old cliché, last but by no means least, it's the main man behind the machine. Without his direction, there wouldn't be faces sodden with tears of jubilation and sadness. The Ibiza blues that rocketed through our nervous systems since Space big banged itself into operation will have been intense, and you've Pepe to thank for that. Sure, feeling low after crashing through some of the best sessions of your lives is heart-wrenching, however, without the lows, you never truly comprehend the highs. Pepe is a genuine warm-hearted soul and when he's heard spilling his love for the club he nurtured to become a global phenomenon, the appreciation he has for people he's had around him over the years – from the nightcrawlers to the Space team – is heard loud and clear. Seeing him up on whatever stage he makes his presence known is going to ignite a sack's worth of emotions, but we'll be riding high on witnessing that moment and we're sure there'll be more than one opportunity to catch him looking over us in loving adoration.
WORDS | Aimee Lawrence
