Investigators say it is still too early to determine the cause of the deadly roof collapse at Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic after the death toll from the tragedy reached 226.

Hundreds of people were in attendance at the 1,000-cap nightclub in the capital Santo Domingo for a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez at the time of the collapse in the early hours of 8 April.

Dust reportedly began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks moments before the entire roof collapsed. Pérez was killed in the incident, while other victims included ex-Major League Baseball (MLB) players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera and Montecristi governor Nelsy Cruz.

More than 200 people were also injured and 14 remain in hospital – four of them in a critical condition.

The government says that “all reasonable possibilities of finding more survivors” had been exhausted, with the focus of the operation now shifting to recovering bodies – a move it clarifies is “simply a reflection of technical criteria and does not signify in any way that the case is being closed or that attention to the tragedy will be reduced”.

According to district attorney Rosalba Ramos, the process has moved into the expert assessment phase, which will establish the cause before a legal investigation can be opened. ABC reports that a commission of experts is being created.

Authorities say that part of the Jet Set club, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary, was previously damaged in a 2023 fire.

A public memorial for Pérez, who was aged 69, was held on Thursday (10 April) at Santo Domingo’s Eduardo Brito National Theater and was attended by fans, fellow musicians and dignitaries.

The tragedy came just weeks after 61 people died in a fire during a concert by hip-hop duo DNK at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia.

It is the deadliest nightclub disaster in more than a decade – since 242 people died and over 600 injured at the Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria southern Brazil in January 2013.

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At least 98 people have died after a roof collapsed during a concert at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic.

The tragedy occurred at 12.45am this morning (8 April) at the 1,000-cap Jet Set Club in the capital Santo Domingo, where merengue singer Rubby Pérez was performing. The band’s saxophonist was among those killed.

More than 150 people were injured, with the emergency services still working to rescue survivors trapped under the debris.

“We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, the director of the emergency operations centre.

“It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner”

Méndez noted that ambulances had transported more than 100 casualties to hospitals in the area.

Pérez’s manager Enrique Paulino told reporters he initially thought the ceiling collapse was an earthquake, adding: “It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner.”

It is not yet known what caused the incident.

In a post on X, president Luis Abinader said: “We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub.  “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”

The tragedy comes less than a month after dozens of people died in a fire during a concert by hip-hop duo DNK at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia. The death toll from the blaze rose to 60 last week with the passing of a critically-injured burns victim. Thirty-four people remain in custody.

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Fifteen people have been detained in the wake of the devastating blaze at Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia that killed at least 59 concertgoers and injured more than 150 others.

The venue had been hosting a concert by hip-hop duo DNK, attended by around 500 people, when the fire started at 2.35am local time on Sunday 16 March.

The government has declared seven days of national mourning to honour the victims.

“Most of the dead suffered injuries from the stampede that occurred in the panic while trying to exit,” Kocani hospital head Kristina Serafimovska told AFP. “Seventy of the patients have burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Interior minister Pance Toskovski said the fire is believed to have been ignited by sparks from pyrotechnic devices as the band were playing on stage.

“The sparks caught the ceiling, which was made of easily flammable material, after which the fire rapidly spread across the whole discotheque, creating thick smoke,” he told a press conference.

“The most important thing is to find out all the facts and evidence necessary for the follow-up measures. We must remain calm while taking all these steps so that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

The incident is the deadliest nightclub fire since 64 people died in a blaze at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015

Kočani is a town located around 100km east of the capital Skopje. Toskovski told reporters there were “grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption” surrounding the nightclub – a former carpet warehouse – which was at double its 250 capacity and did not hold a valid licence.

Initial inspections on Sunday uncovered various “abnormalities” including “deficiencies” in the venue’s fire-extinguishing and lighting system said Biljana Arsovska, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office.

Those detained include the venue owner and former government officials, reports the BBC.

In response to the tragedy, the government has ordered a three-day inspection of nightclubs and cabarets across the country, starting today (17 March).

The incident is the deadliest nightclub fire since 64 people died in a blaze at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015.

The case also appears to be strikingly similar to the 2003 fire at The Station venue in Rhode Island, US, which killed 100 people and injured 230 after pyrotechnics ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings around the stage.

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Two young people were killed after falling 40ft when a glass balcony collapsed at a concert in Mexico.

Fifteen people were also injured in the 7 June incident after a section of the third floor barrier shattered at the Rich club in Alttus Plaza, San Luis Potosi, ahead of a show by singer and YouTuber Kevin Moreno, aka Kevin AMF. Five are reported to be in critical condition.

Video footage captured the moment concertgoers tumbled onto the square below the venue.

Town hall representative Jorge Hernandez says the nightclub, which has been closed by the authorities pending further investigation, did not have the necessary permits to host the event.

“The constant and uncontrolled presence of people attending this event caused one of the railings on the third floor of this building to give way under the pressure and lead to this tragedy which claimed the lives of two people, according to the information we have so far,” adds Hernandez, as per the Express and Milenio. “There are around 15 injured, some of them seriously.

“The place known as Rich, where the event took place, did not have a permit or any authorisation to carry it out”

“The place known as Rich, where the event took place, did not have a permit or any authorisation to carry it out, since there is no request for any permit for an event of such nature to take place.”

The two individuals who died have been named as Manuel Alejandro Infante Puente, aged 21, and 17-year-old Rodrigo Espinosa Alonso.

A statement on behalf of Moreno and agency/record label Poker Music reads: “We want to express our most sincere condolences to family and friends for the unfortunate death of young people during the event that occurred in San Luis Potosi. It deeply hurts us to know that some of our beloved followers, who are an essential part of our community, were affected by this unfortunate and sensitive fact.

“There are no words that can console the void left by their absence, but we want them to know that we share their pain and we are here to support them. We will remember those we lost with love and gratitude for the time we shared together.”

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At least 29 people were killed, and several more injured by a fire at a nightclub in Istanbul on Wednesday (3 April).

The daytime inferno happened as workers were in the basement of the Masquerade club, which had been undergoing renovations.

Authorities stated that the victims of the blaze were all thought to have been involved in the renovation project, which was taking place during Ramadan ahead of the club’s scheduled reopening at the Eid holiday, next week.

Situated on the ground floor and basement levels of a high-rise building in the residential Gayrettepe district of Istanbul, the venue is apparently being treated as a crime scene, with Istanbul governor Davut Gül noting that the cause of the mid-day fire was yet to be determined.

However, police issued warrants for the arrest of eight people, including the nightclub manager and a person responsible for the renovations, as part of their investigations. At press time, six people had reportedly been arrested, while warrants are outstanding for others.

Turkish television showed flames and a columns of smoke billowing from upper floor windows as the fire spread up the 16-storey building

Emergency services were alerted to the inferno at 12:47 pm and firefighters faced the grim task of finding bodies and rescuing severely injured victims as they battled for several hours to bring the blaze under control. Throughout the afternoon, the governor’s office was forced to increase the death toll in ever more shocking updates as more victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

Images from Turkish television showed flames and columns of smoke billowing from upper floor windows as the fire spread up the 16-storey building, but it is believed all the deaths had been individuals who were in the club premises.

As investigations began, Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, revealed that the club’s operators had not applied for the correct construction permit. “There is no application [to the local municipality] for a renovation or a construction regarding the place and as it was two floors down from the ground level, it [the work] wasn’t visible,” he said.

On a later post on X, formerly Twitter, Imamoglu added, “May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured.”

The venue could apparently host up to 4,000 people for DJ performances and stage shows

The Masquerade website notes that the club would be closed from 10 March to 10 April for “our new design renovation”. The venue could apparently host up to 4,000 people for DJ performances and stage shows, according to local reports.

The tragedy evokes memories of similar venue tragedies in the likes of Brazil, Romania, and the United States over the past decade. In January 2013, 242 people – mostly university students – died, and more than 600 others were injured when acoustic foam in the ceiling of the Kiss nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of  Santa Maria.

In December 2016, 36 people died when fire broke out in the unlicensed Ghost Ship venue in Oakland, California, while in 2003, a fire at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island claimed 100 lives, and injured 230 others, with investigators again pointing to pyrotechnics setting light to the venue’s acoustic foam.

And in 2015, 64 revellers lost their lives when pyrotechnics caused a devastating blaze at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest.

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Participants in a pilot event series held in Berlin over the weekend were asked to provide a negative Covid-19 PCR test, as opposed to the more common lateral-flow/rapid antigen tests becoming an increasingly common entry requirement as festivals and shows restart.

Clubculture Reboot, organised by Clubcommission, an association of Berlin nightclubs, as part of the city-backed Perspektive Kultur: Berliner Pilotprojekt Testing initiative, is the latest pilot scheme intended to demonstrate to German authorities that live events can be held safely “even under pandemic conditions”. Six clubs, the Kitkat-Club, SO36, Festsaal Kreuzberg, Crack Bellmer, Salon zur Wilden Renate and Metropol, and around 2,000 people participated in the pilotprojekt, which began on Friday 6 August.

All clubgoers, regardless of their vaccination status, had to go undergo a PCR test – the ‘swab test’ which is more accurate than a rapid test, but which takes at least 24 hours to return its results – at one of three designated test centres ahead of the weekend events. There were seven positive results out of the 2,200 tests administered, according to the city’s website.

“I’m totally blown away by how people are standing here with umbrellas in the Berlin rain and just want to get in here. It’s like being at a festival”

In addition to the weekend-long series of club nights, the Clubcommission, in partnership with the city of Berlin and the German Red Cross, is organising three ‘Long Nights of Vaccination’ (Lange Nächte des Impfens) at the vaccination centre in Arena Berlin (7,500-cap.) in Treptow. Taking place on 9, 11 and 13 August, the ‘long nights’ run from 8pm to 1am and combine live DJs with free BioNTech/Pfizer vaccinations for younger people.

Speaking to AFP, Sebastian Schwarz from Tiefschwarz, one of the seven acts who played on Monday 9 August, said: “It’s overwhelming, the empathy and the niceness with which people are working together here. I’m totally blown away by how people are standing here with umbrellas in the Berlin rain and just want to get in here. It’s like being at a festival.” According to Berlin’s ministry of health, 420 people were vaccinated on Monday alone.

Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said earlier this week that the country’s vaccination rate has fallen behind its neighbours and urged state and local governments to promote vaccines and make them easy to obtain.

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A 48-hour livestreaming event will unite many of the world’s leading electronic music venues in support of the industry later this month.

The Beat Goes Live, which takes place from 19 to 21 March, will raise money for Music Heroes, an initiative supporting venues, promoters, artists, music related charities and organisations. It will stream live on Paarti starting from 9pm GMT.

Participating venues include Ambassada Gavioli (Izola, Slovenia), Cava Paradiso (Mykonos, Greece), Club der Visionaere (Berlin, Germany), Egg (London, UK), D-Edge (Sao Paolo, Brazil), H0L0 (New York, USA), Noa Beach Club (Zrce, Croatia), Nordstern (Basel, Switzerland), Phonotheque (Montevideo, Uruguay), Super Dommune (Tokyo, Japan), Tenax (Firenze, Italy) and Versuz (Hasselt, Belgium).

A final secret venue, as well as the line-up, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We are launching a new kind of platform kicking off with a historic event that brings together some of the biggest names in music”

Fans can support the cause by buying tickets and making donations in both their local currency and cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

Raluca Cherciu, CEO, Paarti says: “We are launching a new kind of platform kicking off with a historic event that brings together some of the biggest names in music, in support of music heroes.”

“What always drives us is the passion and love for music. For Noa, the beat never stops, it keeps playing just like our hearts that live for this industry,” says the club in a statement.

“That is why Noa Beach Club decided to join this initiative because it arose from a sincere desire to continue living, having fun and socialising from all over the world. Luckily, technology today allows us to do that, and this project is going to take it to another level.”

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Live performances by house and techno DJs have been officially recognised as ‘concerts’ by Germany’s Federal Fiscal Court, slashing the tax paid on live electronic music events to 7%.

Tickets for club nights were formerly levied at 19%, but are now eligible for the lower rate of sales tax after being redefined as “concert-like” events by the  Bundesfinanzhof (BFH).

In a judgment dated 23 July, but published in late October, the BFH affirms that “the performance of techno and house music by various DJs give[s] an event the character of a concert, or a concert-like, event even if the music performances take place regularly (weekly),” according to Berlin-based legal firm Härting.

The majority of dance music shows were formerly recognised as ‘party’, rather than cultural, events.

“Most clubs should be able to benefit from the application of the lower tax rate”

The reclassification for clubs throughout Germany follows a similar move specifically for Berlin’s Berghain in 2016, which was recognised as organising culture events and so eligible for the 7% rate of tax.

For nightclubs to benefit from the new tax rules, DJ performances must be the main purpose of the event (as opposed to dancing, partying and drinks sales), according to Härting.

“Even if these requirements have to be checked on a case-by-case basis, most clubs should be able to benefit from the application of the lower tax rate,” the firm says.

All venues and bars in Germany are currently closed under a nationwide lockdown set to run until the end of November.

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Dear Minister of Culture,

It’s strange, but at the end of your speech on France 2 on 22 October, I had the unfortunate impression that I had not been concerned by your announcements.

Not being a great expert in political language, either, after your speech I naively asked my wife if she thought that “the world of the night” could be included in what you called “the performing arts sector”. After all, when I’m on stage, behind turntables, like an actor, musician or dancer, I feel as if I, too, am delivering live performances. But the dubious grin I got as an answer hasn’t really alleviated my fears. So, in order to get to the bottom of it, I immediately called a friend (from the profession) to ask him this simple question: “Reassure me, V, when our minister talks about the performing arts sector, she is talking about us too, all the same…?”

At first my question made him laugh (which didn’t bode well), before giving me his answer: “Ah, no, Laurent, from now on we are part of the dead performing arts sector… As Roselyne has said many times, ‘the world of the night’ doesn’t depend on her, but on the Ministry of the Interior.”

At the beginning I thought it was a little joke, but I quickly understood that behind his cynically funny answer, V wasn’t telling me lies.

It’s strange because as an Officer of L’Ordre Arts et Lettres, Knight of the Legion of Honour (awarded by a former minister of culture [Jack Lang], who has long since occupied the eminent place of the night in the vast space of culture and creation) and globetrotting DJ (like other artists in our country, I’ve been indirectly promoting France abroad for more than 30 years), I stupidly thought that things had changed, and that with my little turntable comrades we had won our status and our ticket to the “world of culture” with dignity. But I have to admit that apparently this is still not the case.

During your speech you spoke of the great suffering of the cinema and the world of the performing arts. Indeed, these sectors have been suffering terribly (like many others) since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. But fortunately for them, cinemas, theatres and some concert halls have nevertheless been able to reopen, despite a complicated health protocol.

When they were open, clubs were places bubbling with creation, imagination and sharing

Today we hear a lot of talk about the anger of restaurateurs and coffee shops due to the curfew. But here again, these businesses still, somehow or other, had some possibilities to reopen, even in an extremely constrained way.

On the other hand, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, since the beginning of March, the “night and clubs” sector (of which I am an intrinsic part) has been completely at a standstill. For us the party is over, and has been for eight long months now.

As you know, like theatres, cinemas and concert halls, clubs (apart from the artists and DJs who perform there) employ the same diverse and varied staff as the rest of the cultural landscape, whether in the bar, the auditorium, the cashier, the cloakroom and the cleaning staff… Or the stage managers, security, intermittent workers, technical staff, sound engineers, lighting engineers, VJs, promoters, bookers, labels, graphic designers, printers, and not forgetting the indirect economic impact (suppliers, restaurants, hotels, transport, etc.). The list is long, but above all very similar to that of the performing arts.

On France 2, you announced figures relating to aid to the various sectors of film and performing arts – and once again, and for too many months now, the cultural space of the night has been totally ignored.

The flagrant lack of consideration, the ignorance emanating from your ministry towards the nightlife and club sector, is clearly interpreted by many of us as an incomprehensible form of contempt. For whether you like it or not, the clubs and places of this ‘night culture’ were (when they were open) places bubbling with creation, imagination and sharing.

I was, Madam Minister, sincerely attentive and benevolent when you took office, impatient but certain to see you represent us in the same way as other artists, and affirm the minimum consideration due to our sector. But I must admit that today, I am not sure if we can do so. But I confess that today – not knowing very well if I am a “dead performing artist”, an “Interior Ministry artist”, or “not an artist at all”, I am beginning to have serious doubts.

Kind regards,
Laurent Garnier

Laurent Garnier is a DJ, composer and producer, and founder of electronic music label F Communications. In 2016 he became a Knight (Chevalier) of the Légion d’honneur.

Some of Europe’s key markets have delivered damning new surveys revealing the impact of Covid-19 on their night-time industries.

Germany has revealed that 94% of the participating disco and club operators are “on the verge of giving up their business,” while the Netherlands – which this week has hosted the world’s biggest electronic music event, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) – expects to lose almost half its expected turnover of €7.4bn this year.

In the UK this week, new campaign group #SaveNightclubs conducted a survey of 101 nightclub owners and managers which revealed that 58% of nightclubs across the nation will go out of business within a month.

Four in five (81%) nightclubs will be shut by Christmas and just 10% said that they expect their business to survive longer than four months.

The vast majority of the live entertainment and nightlife businesses are shuttered due to the UK’s restrictions – which include a 10 pm curfew, capacity restrictions with social distancing and the most recently introduced Tier 2 and 3 measures – as well as being missed out of support schemes.

The survey follows the government’s announcement that selected nightclubs would receive financial assistance from the Culture Recovery Fund, though many operators have missed out and fear their clubs won’t last long without funding.

Printworks, Studio 338, Egg London and Pickle Factory/Oval Space are among the iconic London nightclubs that were denied grants from the Culture Recovery Fund.

“With only a handful of nightclubs receiving Culture Recovery Funding, the rest of the country is in dire need of a survival fund. The government must act now or permanently lose the country’s nightclub industry and the enormous economic contribution it makes,” says Asher Grant, co-owner of London club Reign and a member of #SaveNightclubs.

In the UK, 58% of nightclubs will go out of business within a month

“We’re facing mounting rent bills, ongoing running costs and the prospect of business rates in April. We’re pleading with the government to prevent a devastating tsunami of job losses, a wipeout of future economic contributions and further ruin to towns and cities across the UK which are already on their knees.”

The nightclub industry generates £3bn a year in income for the UK’s economy and is a vital source of jobs, particularly for the young, employing around 45,000 people – 72% of who are under 25 years old. Nightclubs are also an important part of domestic tourism, with 10% bar visits and 9% club visits forming part of a city break.

#SaveNightclubs launched this week, uniting over 100 late-night venues across the UK along with thousands of staff to call on the government to offer a survival plan including emergency financial aid, eviction protection and extended rate relief to April 2022.

Nightclub owners, workers and goers will be joining together to drum up noise outside Parliament Square on Wednesday 28 October at 12 pm to coincide with the prime minister’s Question Time.

In the Netherlands, Dutch organisations including Buma, Amsterdam Dance Event, and Music Ally have published a report, The electronic music industry during Covid-19, which outlines the value of its “world-famous nightlife culture” and its decline due to Covid-19.

In 2018, 73% of the €216.5m total value of Dutch music was attributed to electronic music

Buma, a copyright organisation which presents an annual report of the value of Dutch popular music, revealed that in 2018,  73% of the €216.5m total value of Dutch music was attributed to electronic music, based on recordings and performances.

Festival and party concepts developed in the Netherlands, including Sensation, DGTL, Dekmantel and Mysteryland, are rolled out all over the world with resounding success. While Dutch superstar DJs such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, Ferry Corsten, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Joris Voorn and Chuckie perform sold-out shows around the world.

The Dutch government has released emergency funding to the cultural sector – a total of €728m through packages and €77m through the Performing Arts Fund – but the report says “very little” seems to have found its way to nightclubs or electronic music organisations so far.

Furthermore, while live music venues have been allowed to reopen, albeit with capacity restrictions, nightclubs have now been closed for over six months and will remain shuttered until a vaccine is on the market, says Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

In March, RTL reported that the Dutch event industry will lose almost half its expected turnover of €7.4bn this year.

In Germany, 94% of the participating disco and club operators are “on the verge of giving up their business”

Elsewhere, in Germany, according to a recent survey by the umbrella organization DEHOGA, 94% of the participating disco and club operators are “on the verge of giving up their business” as a result of the pandemic.

“The situation of clubs and discos in Germany is getting worse,” explained Knut Walsleben, the newly elected president of the Federal Association of German Discotheques and Dance Companies (BDT), part of DEHOGA, at the Club Convention industry meeting on 20 October.

“The current state aid is by far not sufficient for our existentially affected companies. The club operators and discotheque entrepreneurs are running out of breath, ”said Walsleben, and called for further political support for his branch.

This week the German government announced an extension of the bridging aid, which will allow medium-sized companies, self-employed professionals and freelancers from all industries to apply for non-repayable direct grants for operational fixed costs up to 90% for the months between September to December 2020.

BDT has welcomed the extension of the bridging aid but is calling for 100% of fixed costs to be covered; the maximum monthly limit of 50,000 euros to be increased; an appropriate entrepreneur wage for the club and discotheque operators; and a VAT reduction which includes drinks and the entrance fee.

Germany is currently operating with an 11pm curfew and a hotspot strategy to tackle Covid cases, which yesterday soared past the 10,000 mark for the first time.

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