Nightclubs released a joint statement on the government’s decision not to open nightclubs across the country due to rising cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The Interagency Coordination Council took the relevant decision yesterday.
The joint letter reads that 2 years ago Georgian nightclubs acknowledged the severity of the epidemiological situation and took the decision to close down temporarily. They note in the letter that now the nightclubs are not going to give up without a fight.
“2 years ago, the Georgian clubbing scene, exceptional in its uniqueness and input in the country's cultural, social and economic development, made the autonomous decision to announce a temporary closedown, having acknowledged the severity of the epidemiological situation and the importance of public health care.
Throughout this time, based on our knowledge, experience and research, we've developed a concept of safe events and guidelines designed to minimize the risk of spreading the virus at open and closed events with large crowds. For this reason, we refrained from demands to open clubs until we were sure we would be able to provide appropriate conditions in our spaces. Despite numerous promises and agreements initiated by the government, today, on December 22, after 22 months of waiting, the Interagency Coordination Council did not decide in favor of opening the clubs up.
This unfair and unjust step has put the entire scene at risk of annihilation, along with the future of up to 8000 individuals working in the field. We are saddened to have come to realize that we believed the promises and once again, found ourselves bitterly deceived. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of calmly observing how the government is destroying our field, having provided the country with an unprecedented worldwide importance, in the name of social responsibility and care of its citizens, while on the other hand, they themselves are organizing concerts and mass gatherings.
Not only did the government not find the will and desire to support and promote the field facing the crisis, but it chose to speak to us in the language of threats. Despite the intimidation of facing financial sanctions and criminal liability, we, the representatives of the Tbilisi electronic music and club scene have all come to a unanimous decision - Tbilisi night clubs will continue to work under the established protocol that has been agreed with the relevant agencies, that we have worked long and hard to develop and incurred enormous financial expenses to live up to, while already in an extremely difficult state, We are not giving up without a fight”, - the document reads.
The letter is signed by the following nightclubs:
• The Cultural and Creative Industries Union of Georgia
• 4GB
• BASSIANI
• Boom Boom Booking Agency
• Bude
• CAFE-GALLERY
• Colibri
• DAISI
• DEDAENA GARDEN
• KHIDI
• Kibe
• Left Bank
• Lisi Rest
• Lisi Wood
• MIONI
• Millennials
• MTKVARZE
• Mzesumzira
• Reflector
• ROKVA
• Barfly
• GR Fest
• Summer Set
• TREEBAL
• Swing Festival
• Tbilisi Open Air
• TES
• TIVI
