Concrete Paris to close permanently in July

The beloved riverside club is shutting after eight years....

Eoin Murray

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - 14:01

Beloved Paris club, Concrete, will close permanently at the end of July, it has been announced.

In a statement shared by Concrete, it was confirmed that the club, located on a three-level boat docked on the Seine, would be closing after eight years of providing forward-thinking electronic and club music to the French capital.

The club had recently been threatened with closure following a dispute with the company that owns the barge on which it is housed. After the company refused to renew Concrete's contract at the start of this year, a petition was launched to save it, with high-profile members of the dance music community around the world vocalising their support. Frédéric Hocquard, Paris's deputy mayor, even expressed his desire for the club to remain open, describing it as "one of the main clubs that animates and really lights up Parisian nightlife".

Unfortunately, despite immense support, the club is set to shut its doors on 21st July, with a farewell party running from Friday 19th through to the night of Sunday 21st non-stop.

“For 8 years now, we have fought hard to get things done in Paris, to live our passion and to make live the many passionate people around us, be they barmen, artists, technicians, runners, safety or cleaning agents,” the club’s official statement reads. “It's also been 8 years since we've been trying to build the best club possible, despite the heavy financial and administrative constraints, and we're working hard to give you all the music and artists that we feel are the ones to be the most defendable in our niche.”

“Concrete is a dream we would have loved to continue building at the Port of the Rapée for a few more years, but the reasons you already know will force us to stop the adventure soon.”

Despite the sad news, however, the team behind the revered club have revealed that they plan to return in some way, "stronger, with the same values, and put our experience and know-how in an even more ambitious project". Whether that will be in the form of a new club or another venture remains to be seen.

Read Concrete’s full statement below. Tickets for the club's Grand Closing party are available here.

Concrete was a regular fixture in DJ Mag’s Top 100 Club’s poll, coming in at No. 43 this year.