Zouk Singapore planning final ZoukOut and parties
[Updated Saturday 21 June 2014, 9:50 am: Zouk Singapore planning final ZoukOut and parties]
Zouk Singapore is currently planning the final installment of its popular dance music festival ZoukOut, according to a media release on Friday.
With six months left of their lease and without confirmation of a long-term extension, the management said they are also planning a series of final parties.
As Zouk fans continue to express their sadness over the club's possible demise, the club has launched an online campaign to update fans on the latest news about the club, and "reinforce and express club's firm desire for its lease to be extended", before it secures and relocates to another venue, the release said.
Earlier on Thursday, influential UK music magazine DJMag - the same publication that ranked Zouk Singapore 7th in its list of top clubs around the world - launched a campaign, with the same name, on social media.
DJMag launched "#SaveZouk", calling for global support against the closure of the iconic club, by asking people to tweet or retweet with the hashtag.
The campaign began after Zouk founder Lincoln Cheng, 67, reportedly announced his decision to close the venue if it does not receive a three-year extension of lease as requested.
The report also said that Cheng is “tired” of getting short lease extensions for the 23-year-old dance club, which is one of Singapore’s most popular nightspots.
Zouk Singapore expressed its worry in a tweet posted on the same day saying, "We hope this would never happen."
The Zouk management in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, also tweeted saying, “We hope that this never happens to our sister club in Singapore!”
Other visitors to the club, famous for hosting popular dance parties and which has attracted star disc jockeys such as David Guetta and AfroJack, also flocked to Twitter to express their sadness.
“What is SG nightlife without the iconic club @zouksingapore,” said a Khalifa Hafiz.
“Hope this is not some PR stunt like how every year would be ZoukOut's last. It's a real shame if this is true,” said an Eddie Niguel on Twitter.
On the club’s Facebook page, a comment by a Shas Lee read, “Please, please, renew your lease… we do not want to lose this iconic place.”
If Zouk Singapore proceeds with its closure, it will join now defunct nightlife venues Home Club and Broadcast HQ that were forced to close in the last year.
Earlier in May, media reports announced that the club was granted a six-month lease extension. While this is the third time an extension has been granted, nightlife veteran Dennis Foo (who owns St James Power Station) reportedly said, in a TODAY report, that this could be the Zouk's last as “the value on the real estate has skyrocketed”.
Zouk’s lease was supposed to end in 2012. However, it received a year of reprieve till June 2013, and another till June 2014.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority Masterplan for 2014, the area in which the club is located has been zoned for “residential with commercial at 1st Storey”.
Residents in the area have also complained about the noise caused by party-goers at the club.
They described it as “disrupting” and in need of “more control”, the report said.
