Snapshot: As Ibiza’s Pacha turns 50, we take a look back at the super club’s most iconic parties

It’s emblematic of Ibiza, with its famous red cherries logo almost shorthand for the White Island.

But while Pacha is the jewel in the crown of Ibiza’s network of super clubs, the prestigious party brand has flourished, having been born out of more humble roots.

Pacha first opened in 1973 by entrepreneur Ricardo Urgell, back before Ibiza had established itself as the clubbing capital of the world. However, while it was a tranquil paradise, famed for its sandy white beaches and relaxed way of living, it was already making waves as a counter-cultural hub. The island was rapidly becoming a safe haven for Vietnam draft dodgers, or pacifists who looked to flee from General Franco.

Its first Flower Power club night – attended by 300 revellers looking to dance to reggae and funk – has rapidly evolved since its seventies launch. Now, 50 years on, Pacha welcomes 3000+ partygoers in the peak of its party season, and has welcomed world-renowned DJs at its decks, including dance music goliaths Swedish House Mafia, superstar DJ Fatboy Slim, and dubstep pioneer Skrillex.

This year sees heavyweights Solomun, Robin Schulz, J Balvin and Camelphat performing, as tourists and locals alike descend on Ses Feixes.

As it celebrates its fifth decade partying hard, we look back at some of Pacha’s most iconic club nights throughout history.

With Ibiza in the 1970s just a little known bohemian retreat, Pacha’s initial few guests were hippies and friends of owner, Ricardo Urgell. Many DJs and dance music fanatics had retreated to Ibiza and experiment with parties and events in converted farm houses. Pacha in Ibiza was one of the island’s first nightclubs (Picture: Pacha Archive)

In its fledgling opening years, Pacha was merely a converted villa, spanning just 450 square metres anda maximum capacity of 300 or so. Its Ibizan venue was the second Urgell had opened at the time, after the success of Pacha in Barcelona; the name comes from a private joke between Urgell and his wife, who claimed they would live like ‘pachas’ – Arabian royalty – from the money made from the clubs (Picture: Pacha Archive)

What set Pacha apart from other fledgling nightclubs that had started to crop up in Ibiza was its commitment to pioneering new genres. House music, having initially stemmed from Detroit, had made its way over to the White Isle in the 80s. It drew crowds from across the world, including from the UK, where the very early iterations of rave culture and acid house had started to crop up (Picture: Pacha Archive)

As its reputation grew, Pacha started drawing huge names to its legendary parties. Mick Jagger was spotted at Pacha’s legendary Flower Power nights back in the 70s. By the time the 80s rolled round, Ibiza was the place for celebrity to see and be seen, with Pacha the hub of the action for A-Listers. Grace Jones was a regular, as were designers Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier.(Picture: Pacha Archive)

Pacha didn’t stop being a celebrity hotspot in the 90s and 00s either, with many a famous face spotted amongst its exposed brick walls. Pictured here at a 2006 Jezebel soiree are music producer Mark Ronson and Jade Jagger. Other celebrities who have been spotted letting their hair down include Penelope Cruz, Anne Hathaway and Leonardo Di Caprio (Picture: Malou)

Pacha also heralded the era of superstar DJ’s of the early aughts. With the club’s capacity now over 3000, it regularly sold out capacity at the height of the party season, and welcomed huge names. One of Pacha’s best known residencies was by ‘grandfather of EDM’, David Guetta, who hosted his cheekily-named ‘F*** Me I’m Famous’ parties in Pacha from 2004. They have since moved to other legendary Ibiza venues, Ushuaia and Hi, in more recent years. (Picture:Sebastian Desbats)

Having evolved well beyond its humbler, more bohemian roots, Pacha now has five rooms for revellers to enjoy. The Main Room is where most of the action takes place, and plays mostly house and techno. The Sweet Pacha room plays more retro, sugary pop, while the Global Room plays the very best of hip-hop and R&B. The Roof Terrace allows for a brief respite from the non-stop partying, but for all its growth, Pacha hasn’t forgotten its disco heritage, with its Funky Room dedicated to disco enthusiasts (Picture: Sebastian Desbats)

Pacha is synonymous for its infamous cherry iconography. The club used various iterations of fruit to push its events, before settling on cherries. The cherries logo stands proudly outside the front entrance to the super club (Picture: Sebastian Desbats)

Pacha now has around 10 venues around the world (its London venture sadly closed in 2014). The brand is still looking to grow, opening sister club Pachacha in Formentera. As a quieter and less hedonistic island compared to its Balaeric big sister Ibiza, Formentera’s iteration of Pacha will likely be more of a retreat than a rave (Picture: Sebastian Desbats)

Pacha was hit hard during the pandemic, as was the rest of the nightlife industry, as Covid restrictions put a hard stop to any and all partying (unless you worked at Downing Street). However, the popularity of the venue saw it quickly bounce back. Last year, Pacha Ibiza opened the season to a sell-out crowd on its first night, which hosted 3,795 people after almost 1000 days of closure due to COVID, with record-breaking sales on drinks. Popular DJ Solomun was there to welcome revellers ready to embrace Ibiza again (Picture: Jony Ferrer)

And with Ibiza’s summer season now in full swing, Pacha shows no signs of slowing down fifty years after their first party.
‘Inclusivity, freedom of expression and openness are the DNA of Pacha,’ explains CEO Sanjay Nandi. ‘To have that heritage of the past but to be constantly updating and reinventing – without deviating from the Ibiza ethos – is our aim.’ (Picture: Ana Ruiz de Villota)

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Pacha is the jewel in the crown of Ibiza’s network of super clubs.