Tallinn's Club Hollywood planning to become multi-purpose event center
Tallinn's Club Hollywood, which has been operating for decades, now plans to develop into a multi-purpose event center while also expanding to hold events during the day.
At the start of the year, Tallinn's oldest nightclub, Amigo, announced its closure. This summer, there are also plans to renovate the premises of another of Tallinn's longest-running nightlife venues – Club Hollywood. However, according to promoter Rauno Otsepp, the move should be seen as the end of something, but instead as a step in the evolution of the city's nightlife.
The club will continue operating as it always has, until this spring at least.
"Young and younger people, and also older people too, prefer to go to different types of places. A lot of people like music that is not so loud. They like to chat, plus sit and scroll on their phones. So, as for going to a nightclub and immediately getting into the party mood, things are a little different than they were 10-20 years ago," Otsepp told ERR.
The same building also houses the Monument club, which, according to Otsepp, now mainly hosts private events. However, he refused to rule out the possibility of the premises being used as a modern nightclub in the future. In Otsepp's view, clubs nowadays ought to be seen simply as multi-purpose venues that happen to be located in favorable locations in the city center. He pointed to plenty of good examples of this in Helsinki, for instance.
"The large venues in Helsinki are not just nightclubs, they are event centers that offer everything from polka to rock and drama to comedy," he said. Otsepp believes the key is to look at different options and involve different types of audiences, as well as make use of not only nighttime hours, but also consider events that take place during the day..
The building where Club Hollywood is located is also home to the historic Kino Sõprus (Sõprus Cinema). While Otsepp does not believe it is possible to fully combine the activities of Club Hollywood and the cinema, he did not rule out increased cooperation between the two venues in the future.
According to Gert Põrk, CEO of Sõprus Cinema, the Sõprus building is worth preserving, and they are only too happy to have other exciting activities taking place under the same roof.
"We have collaborated with Hollywood before, and I believe that given their planned new direction, our collaboration can become even more meaningful," Põrk said.
"Sõprus Cinema has no plans to expand in the near future. We are working specifically with young audiences, both to cultivate a cinema-going public that appreciates quality and also to contribute to the development of cinema culture more broadly," he added.
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Editor: Michael Cole
