Pan Club Copenhagen

Pan Club Copenhagen (often just referred to as Pan) was a gay club in central Copenhagen, Denmark which closed in 2007 after having been in operation on various locations in Copenhagen since 1970. Pan was one of Europe's biggest gay clubs and the biggest in Copenhagen. It attracted a large number of people, particularly in the weekends with saturday being the biggest night. While people of almost all age groups came to the club, it was most popular with younger gay men and lesbians. It also attracted a heterosexual crowd, and in periods it was one of the more fashionable places to go in Copenhagen with many celebreties visiting the club. The club was originally run and owned by "LBL", the Danish national organization for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. The place has since become a commercial venue and has changed owners several times. Most recently, it was taken over by three males, Munir, Rico and Sadi in 2005 until it closed in 2007.

The club had four floors (although not all floors were open at all times) for a total of 2 dance floors and 6 bars. The ground floor featured the cloakroom. The first floor (also known as Pan One) played mostly dance music. The second floor (Pan Two) featured primarily new and old pop music. The third floor featured a karaoke bar and a view over the dance floor of Pan Two. There was also a mezzanine between the first and second floors, offering a view over Pan One along with couches for hanging out. In the summer, one could sit in the open-air yard right outside the club.
Britney Spears visited the club in 2004 the night before her concert in Copenhagen.During the last years of the club's operation, the fraction of heterosexuals attending the club steadily increased. This generated negative comments from members of the homosexual crowd who, while generally being welcome to heterosexuals, also wanted to keep the place a gay club.In Denmark it is illegal to restrict access to a club to people of a particular sexual orientation. In September 2006 the club announced a new system that would require guests to show a member card before being allowed to enter the club. The member card was to be ordered from the club website. Guests would be admitted if accompanied by a card holder and tourists would be allowed to enter without a card. The club owners cited a growing number of heterosexual people entering the club just to get a look at the homosexuals, as the motivation for this measure. The member card requirement was put into effect on April 1, 2007. However, a few days later the club announced that it was shutting down, citing a decreasing number of visitors as the reason. April 14, 2007 was the last night the club was open to the public.

In the building that used to host PAN, a new nightclub, K3 opened in April 2007. It doesn't cater specifically to the homosexual community but describes itself as gay-friendly. In August 2008, it was reported that the K3 club would be hosting gay parties under the name "PAN retro", with the first party planned for December 28, 2008.

External links

* [http://www.pan-cph.dk Official site (saying that club is closed)]
* [http://www.out-and-about.dk/diskussion_traad.asp?debatid=131 News story about the closure]
* [http://www.out-and-about.dk/visnyhed.asp?id=327 News story about opening of K3]
* [http://jm-webdesign.dk/avantgarde-trends/cphstreetfashion/?p=234 Reopening of a Night Club: K3]
* [http://www.out-and-about.dk/visnyhed.asp?id=820]