Space Ibiza 2024. The Force Awakens At Eden.
Space Ibiza was in the headlines recently, with the surprise announcement that it would hold a residency at the Dutch-owned club Eden opening on Friday, April 26, running every Friday until October 4. The island was abuzz with rumour and gossip at the latest instalment of the Space Ibiza saga which began in 2016 when the venue was demolished and Hi Ibiza was built on its hallowed ground. The ownership of the Space Ibiza branding to trade on the island was the hot topic of conversation, as it had been speculated that the powerful Matutes group, owned the indigenous rights to Space Ibiza, and not Pepe Rosello. In the absence of any public confirmation from the Matutes Group, that it owned the trademark, Pepe Rosello proceeded to take full advantage of the confusion and publicly claim ownership by announcing a 2024 residency at Eden.
It was rumoured that the new redevelopment of the old Privilege site would carry the Space Ibiza branding. Still, that prospect looks badly dented as the brand has been associated with Eden, situated in the same local municipality of Sant Antonio de Portamy as Privilege. The war between the Matutes Group and Pepe Rosello over the Space Ibiza ownership has raged for over a decade with both sides taking legal action in the local courts against each other. Rosello has recruited the services of Italian restaurant and club owner, Giuseppe Cipriani, who has also challenged the Matutes group in the past and was associated with the Litiigus Boom nightclub. Cipriani is trading the Space Riccione brand in Italy where Carl Cox and Hi Ibiza residents Tale Of Us have confirmed appearances.
The timing of the Space Ibiza at Eden announcement, just as work had begun at Privilege, is symbolic as was the Good Friday date, the day Jesus was crucified on the cross. If Matutes and the company he uses to operate his nightlife activities in partnership with Yann Pissenem, Ushuaia Entertainment, were thinking of employing the Space Ibiza branding at Privilege then that act of revenge has been neutralised by the wiley Pepe Rosello. If there is doubt over the ownership of the Space Ibiza to operate at Eden, then it will likely be tied up in litigation which could take several years to clear up due to the complicated process of the Spanish legal system. However, the failure of the Matutes group to prove that they own the Space Ibiza branding, except for a “ coming soon” display on its digital screen at Hard Rock Hotel, would cast doubt over their legal rights to use it.
The silence from the local press and the Matutes group over the matter has been deafening. Eden is owned by Dutch property developer Michael Van De Kuit, who in 2013 purchased the site from Salvador and Paquita Salinero, a local family who opened Eden in 1998 after refurbishing it from a run-down club, called Kaos. News of the Space Ibiza takeover at Eden had been rumoured after its flagship party Defected moved to Ushuaia but not many people expected it to materialise considering the legal battles over its trademark ownership in the past. There are also rumours that Eden could be put on the market by its property developer owner Michael Van De Kuit who would realise a tidy profit on the reported 12 million euro he paid for the club back in 2013 as property prices in Ibiza have risen sharply and are now the highest in Spain.
Collateral Damage
If there is to be a legal backlash over the Space Ibiza residency at Eden, and the consensus on the ground in Ibiza says there will be, then we can expect to hear about it in the coming weeks. In my opinion, I can’t see the Space Ibiza residency at Eden happening but I have been proven wrong in the past. Whatever happens, it’s a ballsy move by Pepe Rosello, and they do say that fortune favours the brave.
However, if a legal battle does ensue, then sadly the iconic Space Ibiza name will become collateral damage in the war and will not survive. It will be buried once and for all which may be the best outcome for the much-loved and cherished brand.
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