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DJ Mag Top100 Clubs
32
Barbarella's Discotheque
2

Location: Pirovac, Croatia

Capacity: 2,500

Website: thegarden.hr/barbarellas-disco

There was a certain amount of serendipity in the founding of Barbarella’s. When Garden Festival founder Nick Colgan had to find a new location for his respected dance music event, he went scouting for sites near Tisno (where The Garden brand now hosts many other dance festivals rather than its own).

Colgan discovered a derelict venue in Pirovac that seemed to tick all the boxes, and then some. He fell in love. “It used to be an old club, which lay dormant for a good few years,” Colgan says. “It was exactly what we wanted — open-air, by the sea, surrounded by pine trees. There’s nothing else quite like it, and it tapped into iconic clubs of the past — especially from Ibiza’s very early days, plus with a great Funktion One soundsystem we installed and an intimate dancefloor for everyone.” Spruced up — but not excessively — Barbarella’s now holds parties for some of Croatia’s best festivals.

In 2018, shindigs are promised from Love International, Soundwave, Dekmantel, Suncébeat, Hospitality On The Beach and Defected. And when you consider that talent of the magnitude of DJ Harvey, Ben UFO, Kerri Chandler, Kenny Dope, The Black Madonna, Craig Richards, Midland, Horse Meat Disco, Josey Rebelle, Medlar and Alexander Nut have played there, it should be on the bucket list of any self respecting dance fan.