Pacha takeover El Divino venue

The threatened closure of El Divino has been a fairly lengthy and public affair, but not many will have seen this one coming....

And Pacha will take over the El Divino venue in time for the Ibiza 2010 clubbing season. After reports in the local press about Pacha having taken the lease, we got the confirmation from Pacha's Danny Whittle who lucidly stated to Spotlight "it is true, we have taken over the El Divino venue".

Previously, the word had been that the area would be redeveloped into a leisure club/exclusive gym kind of thing, but now the likelihood is, and early indications are, that Pacha will stick to what they know best. One idea already gossiped about is perhaps that they use El Divino as an official testing ground for new parties. The ironic word there being 'official', as Pacha has had a habit for cherry-picking the most successful from their neighbours, read Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself and, Pacha franchise staple, Defected.

2009 was a poor season, even in recent context, for El Divino, as virtually nothing was invested in the programming of the nights, which is a disaster waiting to happen on an island brimming with quality dance music. But still sad to see it go, R.I.P. El Divino and watch this space for news of what happens there next........