The abandoned Festival Club Ibiza History meets art and graffiti

25. March 2022

High up far away in the mountains of Sant Josep de sa Talaia hides a piece of Ibiza’s history. The ruins of an old, abandoned amphitheatre where thousands of people had wild parties and fun in the 70s. The Festival Club was the first club in Ibiza and opened its doors to tourists in 1972. Buses drove them in droves to the open air club, which is why local Ibizans didn’t notice much. There is not much information about this club and no advertising, but it is rumoured that Bob Marley played here when he was on the island. It is now very dilapidated, overgrown and partly in danger of collapsing, so please wear sturdy shoes and be very careful when entering!

You enter the grounds through large archways at the top of the former bar area. From here you have a wonderful view of the whole area, which is arranged in a circle around a large stage with stone steps, stone benches and stone tables. On the left, you can see a small circular bullring where fights with baby bulls used to take place. It is emphasised that the bullfights took place purely for the pleasure and amusement of the tourists and that no blood was shed!

In 1974 the oil crisis came and the tourists stayed away. The Festival Club Ibiza had to close and was not allowed to reopen because of complaints of noise pollution. Since then, nature has been reclaiming the site and it is falling more and more into disrepair, which also makes it interesting. One can only imagine what must have happened here….

In the 80s and 90s, unofficial rave parties still took place here. Some DJs used the stage to set up their DJ equipment and people danced to it on the dance floor. Top Dj Maceo Plex even recorded a Dj set here in 2016.

Graffiti artists discovered the old building in the 90s and turned it into their canvas over the years. Countless graffiti, some of them very artistic, now adorn the ruins and make this old open-air club an extraordinary lost place in Ibiza, which is now also very popular for photo shoots. Every time you visit, you’ll discover new graffiti that changes almost daily. A paradise for amateur photographers and Instagram fans!

You can reach the Festival Club Ibiza easily if you drive from Eivissa in the direction of Sant Josep and turn right before entering Sant Josep. Then take the first left, the first right and simply follow this road until you see the ruins on the left.