Les Jeux... re-opening!
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Written by BrusselsLife Team -
13 Dec 2005, 00:00
(Updated: 13 Dec 2012, 07:59)
Stop the presses! Alert the UN, set up an international inspection committee and give Christian Chesnot and Oprah Winfrey a call. Someone has set fire to a wall at the Jeux d’Hiver.
To sum up, after virtually three days of wall to wall media coverage, any Belgian old enough to understand the news will have been made aware of a fire at this small nightclub located in the middle of the Bois de la Cambre, right behind the Théâtre de Poche. The media everywhere portrayed it as a complete disaster, as the premises being razed to the ground and as practically a national disaster.
Let’s put the record straight:
1) Yes, there was a fire this Tuesday between 2am and 6am in the premises of the Jeux d'Hiver.
2) The cause of the fire is not yet known. Theories range from a fridge short-circuiting to an act of arson. That it was an act of arson is said to have been confirmed by the electronic surveillance system and the discovery of empty drums outside the premises.
3) Not everything was destroyed. Only the restaurant was reduced to ashes. There was no major damage to the main part of the nightclub, contrary to information that was relayed early on.
4) As the building belongs to the City of Brussels and is a listed building, it will probably be rebuilt without much delay and exactly as it was before.
In addition, the sight of a huge board with the words "We Love Jeux" (which was originally inside the club) on the esplanade in front of the entrance proves, if it was indeed necessary to do so, that the disco part of the nightclub has escaped relatively unscathed. At the very least it shows that it has not been reduced to rubble.
It’s pretty safe to predict that there will, within a few weeks, once again be music on the dance floor of Les Jeux. That may come with a slight smell of firewood and fresh paint of course. It’s best that those who have regularly got refused entry in the past don’t delude themselves as the door policy won’t change. Regulars can rest assured that the atmosphere won’t change either. To get in you need to look classy but not overly so, sexy but not in your face, maybe scruffy but not short of a penny. Forget all that urban or fashion attitude, this just isn’t the place for that.
So all in all, nothing too serious has happened. After briefly moving elsewhere, the nightclub will open again soon and will have benefited from an exceptional publicity campaign in the press. There’ll be plenty more fun to be had for at least 15 years in the three rooms at the chemin du Croquet.
The You, Louise, B.Club and Mezza won’t have had much in the way of respite. [Nicolas Deckmyn & Frederic Solvel]
Let’s put the record straight:
1) Yes, there was a fire this Tuesday between 2am and 6am in the premises of the Jeux d'Hiver.
2) The cause of the fire is not yet known. Theories range from a fridge short-circuiting to an act of arson. That it was an act of arson is said to have been confirmed by the electronic surveillance system and the discovery of empty drums outside the premises.
3) Not everything was destroyed. Only the restaurant was reduced to ashes. There was no major damage to the main part of the nightclub, contrary to information that was relayed early on.
4) As the building belongs to the City of Brussels and is a listed building, it will probably be rebuilt without much delay and exactly as it was before.
In addition, the sight of a huge board with the words "We Love Jeux" (which was originally inside the club) on the esplanade in front of the entrance proves, if it was indeed necessary to do so, that the disco part of the nightclub has escaped relatively unscathed. At the very least it shows that it has not been reduced to rubble.
It’s pretty safe to predict that there will, within a few weeks, once again be music on the dance floor of Les Jeux. That may come with a slight smell of firewood and fresh paint of course. It’s best that those who have regularly got refused entry in the past don’t delude themselves as the door policy won’t change. Regulars can rest assured that the atmosphere won’t change either. To get in you need to look classy but not overly so, sexy but not in your face, maybe scruffy but not short of a penny. Forget all that urban or fashion attitude, this just isn’t the place for that.
So all in all, nothing too serious has happened. After briefly moving elsewhere, the nightclub will open again soon and will have benefited from an exceptional publicity campaign in the press. There’ll be plenty more fun to be had for at least 15 years in the three rooms at the chemin du Croquet.
The You, Louise, B.Club and Mezza won’t have had much in the way of respite. [Nicolas Deckmyn & Frederic Solvel]
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