With the ominous caption, “Are you listening?”, the venue confirmed they’ve heard fans’ pleas to save the now iconic venue in a reel on Instagram that announced 2026 will hopefully see the reopening of Printworks.

Back in October, the Printworks team announced on their social media that their final season would be their “biggest season to date” and that “discussions regarding the designs, planning and delivery of a future Printworks continue”. The fate of the beloved venue was up in the air as its owner British Land planned to redevelop the club into office blocks and luxury flats much to the disappointment of UK-based music lovers.

Whilst nothing is set in stone yet, Simeon Aldred, co-owner and head of strategy at Broadwick Live, told the Guardian there are plans in the works. He said he’s heard “the classic gentrification narrative the last few weeks: terrible landlords closing you down, those kinds of negative vibes. But to be honest, British Land invited us in, [the creation of Printworks] was as much their idea as ours. So I want to give them some credit for that. We can’t announce that [the reopening] is definitely happening, we haven’t signed any contracts, but the shape of the principles for a deal are there, and we’re going to be putting in for planning permission in the next few weeks.”

Last bank holiday weekend, loyal Printworks fans collected to bid a fond (but perhaps temporary) farewell to the venue. The four shows, hosted from Friday 28^th April – Monday 1^st May, included the most legendary artists in dance music from around the globe.

Opening the festivities, Black Coffee made his Printworks debut alongside Maya Jane Coles and newcomer AMÉMÉ. Saturday saw a house-heavy line-up including Camelphat, Stephan Bodzin, Adriatique, Mind Against plus Jimi Jules, Carlita, Cassian. Drum n’ bass titans Sub Focus & Dimensions + MC ID, and Kyrist & SP:MC graced the stage on Sunday. The venue’s final night for three years featured sets from Peggy Gou, Dixon, DJ Koze, HAAi, TSHA, Prospa, and a surprise guest spot from breakbeats duo Bicep to close the event.

Printworks first opened its doors to partyers in January 2017. Previously the 6000-capacity venue in Canada Water was home to the largest printing factory in Western Europe – where the pages of the Daily Mail and Evening Standard got their start. The halls filled with machines make the perfect industrial setting for thumping electronic club music. Fingers crossed it will continue to showcase cutting-edge acts in three years’ time.

The venue previously hosted Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 live-stream concert in support of her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020), after her tour was postponed due to the pandemic. Special guests included Angèle, Bad Bunny, the Blessed Madonna, Elton John, FKA Twigs, J Balvin, Kylie Minogue, and Miley Cyrus. The Chemical Brothers’ “Free Yourself” music video (2018) was filmed on the premises as well as scenes from The Batman (2022).

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin announced in a televised address on Friday night that a number of new restrictions were coming into place in order to fight the new Omicron variant. These include restricting indoor events to a 50% capacity, applying to sports games and concerts, as well as limiting private home visits to no more than four households.

These rules are temporary, coming into place from the 7th of December until the 9th of January, completely covering the Christmas period. Martin said that the “risks associated with proceeding into the Christmas period without some restrictions to reduce the volume of personal contacts is just too high.” 

The move is especially frustrating as it was only on the 22nd of October, less than seven weeks ago, that nightclubs in Ireland reopened. Another restriction to Irish nightclubs also came into play on the 17th of November that imposed a midnight curfew in Ireland, effectively closing nightclubs that typically only allow entry after 11pm, in a story covered here on mxdwn last month. Irish clubs had less than a month of regular operation before being hit by Covid restrictions once more.

These new restrictions, however, are not arbitrary, as they are necessary in the fight against the new Omicron variant. More data is coming out about the new variant by the day, but the first real world data is showing that the Omicron variant may evade some of our immunity, weakening the effectiveness of vaccines, as reported by The BBC. Since nightclubs pose the risk of superspreader events, they will be the first against the wall.

Martin acknowledged the impact that this news has on the hospitality and entertainment sectors, that “many of them will be fearing for their livelihoods”, but he was quick to reassure: “The government will stand by them and ensure that they have the financial supports necessary to weather this latest storm and to stay intact until we are out of it.”

The full list of restrictions is available on the Irish government website here.

The platform will be used on the Sansar app and will allow viewers to move between the dancefloors of the club in vivid detail, with a livestream of all other goers. It will work through phone devices, Mac, tablet, PC or VR for viewers to enjoy a slice of the past in the club.

The company Beatport will be broadcasting the events through Facebook, YouTube and Twitch. The main-events have not yet been announced, as far as dates and times, however it has been released that their will be pre-game parties with music and games for attendees. The main events are scheduled to be announced on February 6th, 2021.

As one of the first widescale virtual events with a livestream and in-person attendees simultaneously, Tobacco Dock Virtual is setting the stage from a more innovative and virtual future. Tobacco Dock’s director Jonathan Read explained the experience, stating that –

“Tobacco Dock is excited to be working alongside our long term partner LWE to develop a cutting-edge virtual venue that will enable remote audiences to have a truly immersive, rich experience with the attributes of being present without the travel. It is a bold new step on our journey to make Tobacco Dock a global destination for music, cultural, fashion and tech events.”

In a press release, it was allusively announced that there will be big acts preforming opening weekend, which does not have a determinate date as of today. Not only were big acts promised, but major party bands situated in London will also be on the ticket.

It is not yet announced how much the app will cost, if anything or if there will be a type of ticket sale for the event. With the plan to open Easter of this year, it is still unclear whether the UK’s most recent restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 new variant will have been lifted at that time, and whether the events will still go ahead without a live-audience.

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