Published
Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 14:36
- Last night, around 700 people showed up in front of the town hall to celebrate the decision.
Leipzig City Council convened last night to unanimously approve a law that will remove closing times for local clubs.
Previously, the "Sperrstunde" policy meant that all clubs had to close between 5 and 6 AM so that, in theory, they could be cleaned. Though it was rarely enforced, the law came into effect earlier this year after a number of noise complaints were levelled at Institut für Zukunft. Yesterday, 47 out of 52 councillors voted in favour of removing the policy altogether.
"We're very happy with the decision," Institut für Zukunft founder Franziskus Thiem told Resident Advisor. "It's a great and assuring sign from city officials that they appreciate the impact of club culture and club spaces in Leipzig and their influence on creating and nurturing a thriving and creative local community."
He continued: "Nevertheless, displacement is becoming more and more of an issue in a growing city like Leipzig, where capital and investment firms look to gentrify abandoned areas that were previously used by local cultural protagonists, such as clubs. Our campaign to support local club culture does't stop with the abolished curfew."
Around 700 people gathered outside the town hall yesterday to celebrate the decision to abolish the "Sperrstunde," dancing to classics like Daft Punk's "One More Time." Watch a video from the scene.
But it's not all good news for the Leipzig scene. The latest venue to fall foul of developers is So&So, whose owners, CG Group, are threatening to knock it down due to planned construction, even though a development plan, which included keeping the space open, had already been drawn up in cooperation with local citizens. Sign a petition to support So&So.