Draft:Docklands (nightclub)
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| Location | Stockholm, Sweden [2] |
| Active from | 1995-2002 |
| Founders | Anders Varveus & Mats Hinze [3] |
The grand opening of Docklands was on September 2 in 1995.
Docklands became a sustainable, mega-club and the wet dream of each and every party kid. It was a rave temple located in a huge shipyard just outside of Stockholm. No one had seen a club like Docklands before in Sweden. The organisers put plenty of effort in setting the mood. The venue had a capacity for 800 people. The ceiling was 11 metres high. One of the best sound systems in the world and mushroom-shaped tables were installed, too.
The Rave Commission[edit]
However, raves were soon labelled "drug parties" by the media, and in 1996, Stockholm saw the dawn of Ravekommissionen [the Rave Commission]. The Rave Commission were a group within the police force. The purpose was to shut down raves and counteract drug use among the youth. There wasn't any alcohol available at Docklands and hence no age limit (this was later changed so that the final years held an 18-year limit). However, this drew more attention from the authorities, and on February 11, 1996, the Swedish police raided Docklands for the first time.
Gudrun Schyman (leader of Sweden's current political party Feminist Initiative and then-party leader of the Left Party) was invited to attend Docklands during the peak of the authorities' war on raves. As it happened, police raided the venue on that night, too. Schyman told the media that the police had used unnecessary force on people who were arrested.
"They raided us almost every weekend for a couple of months. So we started having meetings about how we could make it harder for the police to close the parties," says Varveus. "The decks were located on a platform, which was attached with chains to the ceiling. We put generators in the ceiling and connected lights, smoke machines and sound to the generators. When the police arrived we pulled the DJ up to the ceiling, turned on full smoke and strobed the shit out of them. The police pulled out all sorts of cables but nothing happened. In that way, the party could continue for about two hours."
Between November 1996 and December 1997, the Rave Commission gathered 658 urine and blood samples from rave attendees. 1,329 people were arrested in total.[4]
 The dance floor just before the very last party on December 21, 2002. |
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The last rave[edit]
On December 21, 2002, after a series of raids and conflicts between the morals of the adults and Stockholm's youth, Docklands held its last ever rave. Today, the building that changed an entire generation has been turned into a block of flats.
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ The Left Party's then party leader Gudrun Schyman at a rave party in Docklands in Nacka in 1996. (Swedish) [1]
- ^ Docklands in Stockholm (Swedish) [2]
- ^ Docklands was founded in 1995 by Anders Varveus and Mats Hinze. Until 2002, techno music was played in the premises at Finnboda shipyard every Saturday evening. (Swedish) [3]
- ^ The Youth Section, commonly known as Ravekommissionen (the Rave Commission)[4]
- ^ The Rave Commission - The Only Culture Police In The Western World[5]
External links[edit]
Category:Nacka Municipality Category:Companies established in 1995 Category:Companies disestablished in 2002 Category:Techno