After two years out, there were equal parts anticipation and trepidation about the prospectus for Ibiza 2022 from within the island's nightlife economy. While everybody was super eager to put the nightmare of 2020 and 2021 behind us, there were lingering doubts as summer approached.
These were more than partially fuelled by the last remaining restrictions. Many were still in place here, as we passed Easter and hurtled towards the intended start of clubs opening - which had been planned earlier than usual, partly to make up for lost earnings in the two previous years.
Events unfolding in Ukraine and a looming cost of living crisis added further uncertainty.
It meant there was a wave of wariness - and pessimism - that Ibiza would still not be a go.
Ultimately, this hangover meant that planning happened very late. As club programmers and promoters moved cautiously, this resulted in a frantic last-minute dash when the politicians finally gave the all-clear.
You may have noticed yourself that various things got announced a lot later than was ideal.
So after all was said and done, how did Ibiza 2022 pan out?
While there were exceptions, generally speaking, the island's entertainment sector had a phenomenally successful year. Ibiza is back in business! This was typified by both opening parties and closing parties - all of which sold out for the first time ever, mostly across the board.
Comments from the clubs included things like "possibly our best closing ever" - now that's saying something! Yes, they usually are very busy, but for multiple parties to all sell out in advance day and night was unheard of.
With the above in mind, let's take a look at each club, to see how they all fared and which parties stole the show.
Amnesia
Monday was a surprise package in a lot of ways, as Amnesia moved away from the Techno it had been known for and edged further, but not fully, into more commercial waters.
Sonny Fodera, Gorgon City and Danny Howard were charged with fronting this night and - BOOM - it exceeded all expectations. This party was a big hit with the ladies, which made for a really nice vibe on the dancefloor, with an accessible and unpretentious soundtrack.
Many of us at Ibiza Spotlight had hoped that RESISTANCE might take over Tuesdays, which was homeless after it was revealed neighbouring Privilege would not open in 2022. Alas, sadly that dream combo didn't end up happening.
While underground fans may lament, Steve Aoki's July and August parties were busy, busy. After Aoki's peak season madness ended, Latin American promoter Bresh moved in with its high-jinx and Reggaeton that proved successful. There's scope there for it to return next summer.
Wednesdays were all about Paradise - the long-awaited big move two years in the making. While it was never quiet, it's fair to say that the party still took several weeks to find its groove. But when it did, oh my! By mid-season, it was soaring. Bearing in mind this was a midweek party, it really couldn't have had a better debut year at Amnesia. The second half of summer was WHOA!
Thursday was Amnesia's designated Latin music night all summer, with Mamacita and BRUTAL, formerly of Privilege, trading places from week to week. While that sector saw growth, it wasn't Amnesia's strongest session, but neither was it a flop. Certainly, there's room for improvement.
Like other clubs, Amnesia felt the competition on Fridays.
Joseph Capriati's mini-residency (in fact, anything Capriati was attached to, no matter headliner or support) did very well, as did the Clockwork Orange date and various others. Some failed to make any kind of impact, but at least Amnesia has a better idea of what might work in 2023.
There isn't much to say about Saturdays, that hasn't been said before. elrow continued to pack the punters in and shows no signs of falling out of favour.
Amnesia is the perfect home for it. The show, the decoration, the atmosphere - simply incredible. It remains the jewel in the club's crown. The elrow brand is one of, if not the premier party brand worldwide. 'Nuff said.
Pyramid moved to Sundays and definitely had an improved season on both 2018 and '19. The much-discussed Bicep live concert was built-up to be a highlight of the programme - and that proved true, but most weeks were decent even if they were not completely full.
Adam Beyer's regular appearances in the Main Room were a recurring highlight, while dates with the Luciano and Villalobos combo next door on The Terrace were another feather in the cap. The move to Sundays definitely paid off.
Eden
Eden went balls out for 2022 and looked to hit different markets each night of the week, covering the spectrum of dance music. Whether you like House, Tech, Trance, D&B or EDM, Eden had something for you in its weekly line-up. By the end, there was even Garage and Reggaeton.
Mondays were designated to Louder. Formed from the remnants of Together, Amnesia's old Drum & Bass party, Louder had big ambitions and was one of Eden's strongest nights. Despite this, the Louder team were a little disheartened that it wasn't quite as strong as they had hoped.
That wasn't for the want of trying - and it really did offer diversity on San Antonio's doorstep. Locking in Chase & Status for 12 of the 16 dates was a huge coup, while fledgling DJs like Siren and Koven emerged. We hope Louder returns in 2023 and we're sure it will.
Tuesdays fell to Repopulate Mars - and the return of Lee Foss after island exile. So how did it shape up? After a raucous opening party, unfortunately, those highs were never replicated and the night became a bit of an also-ran. A shame, but it showed how tough midweek can be.
Wednesdays were equally difficult to navigate. Again, the NERVO sisters offered something different. Yet it never really got any momentum. And, after Liv and Mim had to return to Australia for a family emergency, the night was downsized and passed into the hands of local DJs.
Trance Thursdays meant SHINE with Paul van Dyk and co. Okay, this night has its fanbase and had some very popular nights - mostly the ones with PvD. That said, it's clearer year-on-year that Trance is on borrowed time. With the exception of Ibiza Trance Event and a few nostalgic one-offs, we question how much appetite there will be in years to come.
Don't all pile in now, Trance fans. Sorry, we know it's not what you want to read, but it's the truth. Given the current popularity of the genre, one dedicated Trance night a week is about as far as Ibiza can stretch.
Ahh, Fridays - the big one. Defected has been Eden's strongest hand for some time now and that continued in 2022. San Antonio's most successful party by a country mile.
Partly reacting to some of its former big names being tied into contracts elsewhere, Defected went a little more underground this summer. Although some line-ups lacked that "wow" factor compared to past years, let's face it, Defected is still an absolute guarantee for top-quality House music. It's a very popular brand and works brilliantly at Eden.
Lastly, Saturdays were reliably consistent in 2022.
WNDRLND is a no-frills, headliner-free party that covers all kinds of music - although mostly that with a 4/4 beat at around 125 bpm. It was a safe option for San Antonio's young, weekend crowd and the Pukka Up team who run it will be very pleased with how the season went.
Hï Ibiza
Things are rarely so black-and-white when it comes to Ibiza, but let's say it how it is: Hï Ibiza had an exemplary summer. We can hardly imagine how it could have gone better. This was capped by winning DJ Mag's prestigious world's number one club award. No matter what you think about that poll or popularity contests in general, the fact remains that the title carries weight.
Perhaps more significantly, Hï Ibiza seemed to vanquish the ghost of Space. We saw this first-hand on our forums. Even seasoned Ibiza visitors who had previously written the club off or refused to entertain it started to warm to it. This marked a huge turnaround.
Tuesdays fell to those Tik-Tok and Instagram champions The Martinez Brothers, truly one of the hottest acts on the planet. The night was mostly very busy (especially when big-name guests like Carola or Bibi were in town). Numbers dipped a little when Carl Cox started at DC10, but overall it was a roaring success. What perhaps doesn't get as much attention, is how Paco Osuna commanded the Club Room. Bravo!
FISHER was the marquee name for Wednesdays. The first couple weren't necessarily slow, but it's fair to say there was noticeably space. But then this turned around very quickly. Within a few short weeks, Wednesdays were swamped. The combo of FISHER and Vintage Culture worked well and was especially popular with a younger crowd.
You might have thought that Afterlife, the melodic Techno night from Tale Of Us, may have lost some momentum in the two years off. Well, not a chance. If anything, the party did the impossible by gaining numbers. From the go, it was thundering, eventually extending to an extra week and finishing with a day-to-night doubleheader, starting across the road at Ushuaïa.
Friday was the new one from David Guetta called Future Rave. While it would be a lie to call this night anything other than a huge success, it's also accurate that it took a while for entry-level clubbers to draw the connection between Guetta and his new concept.
If anything, this has the potential to be even bigger next year.
Saturday was again left in the hands of Black Coffee and, after a 2019 season that stalled in places, our host reaffirmed his grip on his throne. Packed weekly. Black Coffee is a bonafide star on the international stage now - and that owes a lot to this residency.
Sundays went much the same way. Glitterbox had its best summer ever. Despite being widely regarded as a retro Disco night, the GB line-ups went more daring and outside the box than most other island promoters. Dare we even say "underground"? It was simply class - just a great fun night appealing to so many different types of clubbers.
Pacha
Flower Power remained a Pacha staple on Mondays. This party has been going for over 45 years and although there were signs that it might be coming into its twilight years, the crowds were having none of it. Flower Power exits 2022 in a stronger position than when it entered.
Tuesdays at Pacha were Latin-powered. Pacha Latino Gang, to be exact. Giants from the world of Reggaeton were flown in, including Maluma, Eladio Carrión and Duki & Bizarrap. This night was so successful, that guestlist was nigh on impossible to get and tickets cost up to €90. Wow!
Bedouin A Wednesday Saga took up residence midweek. The night doesn't have much traction with the UK crowd, so you could be forgiven for thinking it didn't make much of an impact. That is inaccurate though. It had some busy nights with a cosmopolitan crowd and also attracted a VIP element. It may not have blown the world away, but up against strong competition such as Paradise and FISHER, it punched above its weight bracket.
Thursday this year was a bit of an experiment with the Storytellers crew curating El Baile - a party which honoured Pacha's roots. While the organisers went to extreme lengths, sadly - and arguably a casualty of a late start - the party never captured the imagination of the public.
El Baile deserved better.
The promoters really put a lot of thought into the concept and the booking policy was bold. Perhaps there were just too many ideas thrown at it in the end, resulting in a confusing message? Though it pains me to say, as I personally loved it, of all Pacha's parties, El Baile is the most at risk. Pacha has been ruthless in giving more successful nights the chop in the past.
While Music On was already a Pacha party in 2019, this summer it moved to its traditional Friday night role and safe to say it had an exceptional 2022. Marco Carola moved even further away from his Techno beginnings, but that only strengthened the cause. Did it steal the Pacha crown from Solomun? Sources tell me it might have.
Saturdays at Pacha have long been a guaranteed good night out. It's a party tailored for the big spenders and Claptone's The Masquerade is the ideal fit for that night. Vocal, chart-ready House music with a bit of extravagance. Perfect. Yes, it worked, needless to say.
Sundays on Ibiza mean only one thing and that is Solomun +1 at Pacha. Music On may have proved fractionally more popular by the slimmest of margins, but regardless, Solomun was incredibly busy all summer long. Super busy in fact. But what about the music...
Did he change his style? Yes, he did. Did it make a difference? No. Not a jot. If he shed any long-term fans, they were simply replaced by fresh ones.
Let's also mention the changes that Pacha has implemented since summer 2019. The sound system is fantastic and amongst the best on the island, the dancefloor is larger and much improved and that new lighting rig is like an actual UFO overhead.
If you can't tell already, Pacha had a bumper season! This combined with the success of Destino (see further down) and its other island businesses, well new CEO Sanjay Nandi has come on board at an exciting time.
Ushuaïa
We've already told you about how Hï Ibiza had one of the strongest summers on record, so how did its sister venue fare? While it might not have been quite so prolific, it was a mighty fine year for the party hotel under the flight path.
Big hitters David Guetta and Calvin Harris sold out every week on Mondays and Fridays respectively, which is simply outstanding when you think about it. The popularity of these two megastars continues unabated.
Both play their well-known hits, both old and new, and the crowd laps it up, all too happy to sing along word for word. A sea of smiles and phones from front to back.
Meanwhile, on Saturdays, ANTS continued to march forward. This party is simply unstoppable. ANTS is a great contrast for Ushuaïa, boasting proper underground Tech House DJs, yet remaining accessible enough being hosted in these beautiful surroundings.
We particularly like the early doors session at the back of the pool area, especially as you can often get discounted early entry tickets. Once again, the production went to dizzying new heights for the 2022 theme, which was the awe-inspiring B-movie ANTS Invasion.
Similarly, the other production specialist elrow also impressed with its three takeovers. Each edition proved especially popular and offered a nice alternative to its indoor Saturday night club events.
After making waves the last few seasons at Hï Ibiza, and generally getting a bigger profile all round, CAMELPHAT made the jump up to Ushuaïa this year. So how did they find it?
Well, tougher than they imagined. While it was never dead, it was also considerably lighter than, say, ANTS. That's perhaps an unfair comparison, but equally, it shows that even A-listers found midweek difficult. It was also a late door, with fans arriving knowing that the hosts would close.
There were other success stories throughout the summer. Martin Garrix impressed on Thursdays and there were some nice one-offs on Sundays, from the likes of Hardwell, Eric Prydz and Swedish House Mafia, although it seems as if the fever that surrounded their record-breaking 2019 date has died down considerably.
Flying the flag for Reggaeton, Nicky Jam's dates are also more than worthy of mention.
The other venues
This was Akasha's first summer on the island and while it can generally be considered a good one, it also showed how tough it can be competing with the big boys. The nights that operated solely in Akasha, without Las Dalias garden or the market as a feeder, were harder to fill.
On the flip side, the Sven Väth dates were incredible - some of the best parties of the year. Established parties like Namasté and Ethereal, as well as the new Sunday Nido (special mention to this!), all flourished.
Meanwhile, projects such as Gardens of Babylon and the Ida Engberg-fronted Holotropia failed to land. It's worth mentioning that Akasha has a very interesting, quite leftfield booking policy, as well as very cheap ticket prices.
Club Chinois was a swanky new kid on the block this summer and it too soon discovered first-hand how competitive the island can be. No doubt its late start played a factor, with the club chasing the rest of the pack from the off.
The club was also beset by incidents away from the premises and outside of its control.
Thursdays to Saturdays worked well - very well in the case of Pablo Fierro's We're Here and Luciano. And, actually, by the end of summer, Chinois had found its stride and was steadily improving across the board.
With a few tweaks, it can be a serious contender in 2023. Watch this space.
Cova Santa had mixed fortunes in 2022, largely impacted by noise complaints in the second half of summer. Those breaches and subsequent punishments risked taking the shine off a decent season. Woomoon and Storytellers were yet again the flagship parties, but All Day I Dream also staked a claim and did very well in an extended season.
The Tech House parties were more hit-and-miss and no doubt suffered disproportionately from the sound limiters. While you can get away with quieter bass for the nomadic and deeper House sound to a large degree, those same levels are merciless for higher-tempo dance music.
Having said all this, on its day, it's still amongst the best clubbing experiences you can have on the island. The effort put into decoration and show is amazing, the location is magical and it boasts an award-winning restaurant.
DC10, another venue in the municipality of San José, also had much-publicised issues with the authorities regarding sound. In this instance, we saw its Garden voluntarily taken out of commission for half of the summer, only making a brief reappearance for Circoloco's closing.
It's hard not to feel sorry for DC10, but due to its location and the flat terrain surrounding the airport, sound travels very easily. This, combined with the fact that it went from two to three weekly parties to four to five, no doubt worked against its favour.
Let's focus on the parties though. Aside from the rammed opening and closing, Circoloco was actually a lot more comfortable than in past years. Perhaps the popularity of incoming nights helped spread the load? Those two nights being Carl Cox Invites and Solid Grooves.
Coxy was popular, but mostly banking on his name alone (except the Laurent Garnier date) and with a very experimental room two which exclusively featured live acts, the night didn't pull like some imagined it would.
Solid Grooves on the other hand was a massive success.
Michael Bibi is the man of the moment. Not only here, but wherever he went, the crowds followed. In 2019, the party was in Privilege's Vista club and relied heavily on a loyal workers crowd with lots of concession lists. This year, it was the hottest ticket at Ibiza's most notorious venue. It's funny how things work out.
It wasn't all roses, however.
Sandwiched between DC10's three biggest nights, Exhale by Amelie Lens suffered as a result. It flopped. No other way to angle this. Trick, the new arrival from Patrick Topping, performed much better, but still left much to be desired. Friday nights were just damned tough in 2022.
You can't help but feel it would have done better to operate as a single-room night in its first year. That said, numbers did pick up later and increasingly throughout the residency.
Moving on, Destino was limited to 12 party licenses for the whole summer, as has been the case for a while. It chose diligently and went for bankers Music On and Solomun +LIVE on rotation. That meant there wasn't much variety, but why risk it? All nights performed well, and the closing party might just have been its busiest-ever event.
Well, well, well... Es Paradis - what can we say? There's a consensus that thinks Es Paradis had a sub-par year. That sentiment is no doubt fuelled by the high-profile departures of Release and SuperMartXé, both of whom were seen as the start of a new dawn for the club, and also to a lesser extent daytime party Lotusland, which also got canned early on.
Those changes to the programme were blows, but what might not be so clear is that, actually, Es Paradis has still had a pretty decent season. Hey, the club is still open as I type and is trading daily until Halloween. It's the last rodeo in town! Respect for that.
From a purely personal point of view - and perhaps against public opinion - what I would like to see Es Paradis do next summer is play to its strengths.
Instead of courting ambitious external promoters with over-inflated dreams, it should stick to what it has done in the second half of summer: take more things in-house, keep the programme accessible and the prices reasonable. That works.
After being one of the few venues to open during the fallow years of 2020 and 2021, Ibiza Rocks was another that had mixed fortunes in 2022.
Craig David either wasn't available or couldn't be convinced to do a full summer. Joel Corry came in and did very well, but Nathan Dawe proved harder to fill. Cuckoo Land also had hiccups. First primary resident Jess Bays, then later her understudy and eventual replacement, SUAT, were both let go. This was in spite of the latter proving a viral sensation at poolside.
There were other successes though and it was far from a disappointing season. One-offs from Fatboy Slim, Aitch and Central Cee showed Ibiza Rocks still has an eye for great programming.
To remain at the cutting edge, Ibiza Rocks will likely revisit its programme again for 2023. That won't prove too much of a burden though. The venue has been in a constant state of evolution since its inception. Change is what it does better than other business on the island.
Across town, its pool party rival O Beach had a stellar summer. Everything clicked into place as it sold out most days.
Celebrating its ten-year milestone, O Beach went from strength to strength, with its extended birthday weekend a notable highlight. Apart from that, Kisstory and Pool Party continued to be its most popular weekly sessions, while House In Paradise emerged as a new favourite.
Much like every year, celebs could regularly be spotted having fun at O Beach. MMA fighter Connor McGregor and record-breaking popstar Ed Sheeran were among the familiar faces.
The only mild disappointment from the season was that the monthly AiLIEN concept from Mike & Claire never got off the ground. Much like El Baile at Pacha, you just felt there was too much going on and the bigger details were being overlooked in favour of the smaller ones. Let's leave the MANUMISSION legacy to rest in dignified peace now, please.
In Playa d'en Bossa at the unfashionable end of town, Octan was another venue that spent the season in battle mode. Sunday night ENCORE was its clear runaway party, but even that suffered from changes to the line-up and dates being removed.
Goldie's party was pulled before it even began and Saturday nights with RICHBITCH/Urban Club Culture stuttered and started. Initially, La Troya proved very popular, but its subsequent departure to Club Chinois left further gaps in the diary.
Despite all this, the owner remains not only resolute but upbeat. There's no doubt in our mind, that with the right programme, Octan can be a force to be reckoned with. It has always been the underdog - and you get the feeling that is the role it thrives best in.
Finally, we come to Tox - the private club on the site of Destino that outsourced its entire programme to an external promoter from the USA in 2022.
Tox found it a tough sell in 2022, no doubt hampered further by the peak season taxi situation that made isolated Cap Martinet a less than attractive proposition. That wasn't the only issue it faced. In fact, it experienced some pretty horrendous luck, getting hit from all angles, from headliner's flights being cancelled to the bigger venues flexing their muscles and exercising no-compete clauses. An ongoing uphill battle.
In spite of all that, the unflappable Christian Parth, owner of Denial Events, deserves much credit for his optimism and never-say-die mentality. Truly a man of resilience who deserved the success of his final party, when he packed them in for Ferry Corsten during Ibiza Trance Event.
Other trends & observations
As we mentioned in the intro, opening parties at the end of April were a huge success and proof that the season can be extended earlier. It was refreshing to see so many youngsters, many of whom had never been to Ibiza before, take advantage of low-cost flights and experience Dalt Vila and all the rest. This was the shot in the arm that everyone here needed. Vamos!
The next two or three weekends followed in a similar suit, but then around mid-May tourist numbers, and thus club numbers, fell off a cliff. Yes, during this period there was a lot of concern. Squeaky bum time.
Thankfully, by late June the numbers had recovered and kept climbing before remaining at very high capacity throughout July and into August. There was a dip in the second half of August, which is pretty typical and to be expected. Again though, lots of hoteliers and promoters felt vulnerable.
Then business picked up again in early September with the change of demographic and that momentum pretty much sailed on through, right the way to the final closings in mid-October. A fantastic end to summer, which left no doubts that Ibiza was indeed back on the map.
You might deduce from reading the above that there were hardships as well as victories in Ibiza 2022, and that much is true. So let us elaborate a little.
By far, the big winners were the established names and parties - the promoters who had a foundation of support and an existing record of success. Interestingly, it wasn't the expensive parties that suffered, but the cheaper ones.
Despite some eye-watering ticket prices, this was not a barrier to achieving a packed dancefloor. With pursestrings tightened, clubgoers just wanted a nailed-on great party and were prepared to pay extra to get that guarantee. An insurance levy, if you will.
The cost of living crisis was surely already starting to bite this summer, and visitors reined in their spending accordingly. What we could see was that holidaymakers were going out fewer times when here, but were prepared to make up for quantity with quality.
While the full fallout of the economic downturn might not be felt until summer 2023, this desire to go premium, especially on a luxury expense like a holiday, gives us confidence that Ibiza is not about to slip into the mire any time soon. That said, the cost of tickets, drinks, flights, hotel rooms and DJ fees are sure to fall under greater scrutiny in the next six to twelve months.
Musically, Reggaeton's growth continued in 2022. Even the likes of Eden, Es Paradis and Ibiza Rocks jumped on the bandwagon this summer. When you struggle to fill your club seven nights a week with electronic music, diversifying your portfolio to accommodate this exciting new market is just logical, plain and simple.
Next year, we may see a club attempt two Latin parties a week for the first time. In fact, Amnesia kind of did already at the tail-end of summer, when it had Bresh and BRUTAL/Mamacita overlap for a few weeks.
When you see that the Reggaeton hype train has hit London's clubland, you can't ignore it any longer. This is a massive cultural movement.
Support for these parties is especially big amongst the young, indigenous population - those children of Ibicencos and ex-pats who are just turning 18, 19. Let's think for a little why that might be...
If you grew up on Ibiza and had giant billboards of DJs, every radio station playing House music and the whole infrastructure based around dance music shoved in your face, would you consider that edgy and underground - what teenagers tend to gravitate towards? Or would you deem it decidedly commercial and uncool?? Especially if your parents are into it as well.
Food for thought there. We can't see it going anywhere. If anything, it's only going to get bigger.
Finally, the last observation to make for 2022 is how the parties assembled their rosters. While in many cases, it was still the same dozen or so DJ mercenaries doing the rounds and playing just about everywhere, some promotions decided to stick to their own core stable.
Parties like Afterlife and Defected actually reduced the star power within their ranks this year. To compensate, what they did was very clever. They gave a platform to the names that had helped their respective labels grow during the pandemic. Much like a well-run football academy, this system of in-house development is a self-fulfilling reward that nurtures future headliners.
Not only that, but when looking at those parties, you could genuinely tell quite easily which was which. Giving your brand a distinguishable identity is paramount when things are so saturated.
After years of people like Andreea Magdalina banging the drum for women in the industry, gender splits on Ibiza line-ups were much improved in 2022. Parties like El Baile, UNA and HE.SHE.THEY. led the way, but most parties made a renewed effort to address the imbalance.
Next year we'd like to see further improvement, like trusting these ladies with a peak time slot and not just putting them right at the start of the night for an hour's opener. But baby steps, one at a time. This was progress.
IMAGES | by Andrei Oprescu, La Skimal, Louis Nesbitt, Mario Pinta, Peter Young, PHRANK, Raul Sanchez, Stivi and The Vitorino
