Since 1979, London Pub has been Oslo’s most important meeting place for the LGBT community. Now the pub is getting a completely new section, which some of the guests may want to take notice of. 20 years ago, the venue was called Club Spartacus and was a queer nightclub started by Lillebror Larsen.
Now London Pub is breaking through the wall and opening London Club in the venerable premises. The London Club will have its own entrance from Pilestredet.
Will open the doors to even more
Desta Selassie has been running London since 2007 and has been through several rounds of renovations. In order to be able to preserve the atmosphere in the best possible way through renovations and extensions, there has been close cooperation with Thon Eiendom.
The proposal to expand with a new department originally came from property manager Shobeir Razavinik. When the premises became vacant, he contacted Desta Selassie to make a plan.
Opens for more diversity
London Pub expands and ensures that the new premises are universally designed. – We are looking forward to visiting the London Pub and hope that queer funkiser can now become a permanent part of the community there, says Ihra Lill Scharning, deputy head of Keive funkiser.
– We knew that London Pub is very well visited at weekends and quickly found out that it might be appropriate to expand the club room on the upper floor. After studying the technical drawings, we sat down together to come up with a good concept.
To ensure the right atmosphere, London wanted to be responsible for the decor and bar solutions themselves. Everything else in the process has been taken care of by Razavinik and Thon Eiendom. In parallel with the planning, the entire quarter has received a boost.
– In addition to the London Pub, the property also houses Eilefs Landhandleri, Røør, Per på kørnket and Herr Nilsen, which has also served satisfied regulars for a number of years. In the past year, the quarter has, among other things, received a facade renovation, new windows and a new ventilation system, says Razavinik.
Will give something back
The terror on 25 June left its mark on the queer community, and the London Pub was in the middle of the firing line. It shocked regulars, employees, the environment and, not least, chairman Desta Selassie.
– We never considered closing the doors after 25 June. We would rather expand the offer and give something back to the environment, he says about the reason for the expansion.
– Now London Pub and London Club can embrace the whole queer environment. We have something for all age groups, both those who want to hang out in the pub and those who want to dance. As always, entry will be free. It is important to us, says Selassie to Blikk.
Selassi reveals that the opening party is only part one.
– We are not quite finished with renovations, so May 8 is the first part of two openings. We will continue to refurbish the old part of the club for an even bigger and more spectacular grand opening at the end of June, in time for Oslo Pride week, says the chairman.
Opening party London Club on Wednesday 8 May at 21. Terje Schrøder from Great Garlic Girls and Bertina Glam are some of the artists on stage this evening. Info: London Pub on Facebook
