Ibiza nightclubs could open on 26 July, covid permitting

“If the situation stabilises we will begin to open up nightlife, but it will be linked to vaccination,” explained Garrido at the end of the press conference in answer to questions from the media, “We want safe leisure and anyone involved in it must do so with the full vaccination schedule or with a diagnostic certificate”. The Consellera explained that the proposal has already been raised at the Social Dialogue Round Table, and that there are many aspects still being worked on, such as the type of diagnostic test to be requested or the possibility of including foreign citizens who have a covid passport from their own countries. In any case, guaranteeing the safety and health of all attendees will be the condition sine qua non that marks the start of de-escalation in this industry. In the same media appearance, the president of the Consell de Eivissa, Vicent Marí, also insisted on the need for the reactivation of nightlife to take place when the safety conditions are met: “The sector’s own business owners only want people to enter clubs after being vaccinated. They are very responsible people and both they and the administrations are clear that restarting nightlife riskily is bad for Ibiza”. As of today, discotheques and nightclubs remain closed in the Balearic Islands.

Botellón and illegal parties

Garrido made these statements after meeting with the president of the Ibizan Consell and the five mayors of the island to detail the new measures that the Government will adopt today on the management of the pandemic. The main one is the ban on the sale of alcohol in commercial establishments and petrol stations from 10pm onwards. This measure will come into force on Saturday as soon as it is published in the BOIB, and aims to prevent the proliferation of botellones. On the fight against illegal parties, Garrido said that current case law does not allow the police to enter a private home without judicial authorisation. However, the consellar assured that the decree law passed by the Govern in July 2020 already provides sufficient tools for severely punishing offenders. “If we find that a home with a holiday licence has other, non-residential uses, tough penalties can be applied, including the cancellation of the licence,” she said. The consellera admitted that this remedy has not yet been used against any of the villas operating as illegal nightclubs, but that this is because “the penalisation process is very long and painstaking”, but warned that “whoever commits the crime will pay”.