This sounds excellent. A brilliant starting point. You guys have really given this some great thought. I hope it goes fabulously well for you.
A big thank you to all those that participated in the first UTOPIA all nighter thread. We really do want feedback both positive and negative and do take all of your comments seriously.
This is what we have decided. On the 8th June we will run an extended freestyle at Ashton's from 8pm to 3am (some of you may have already picked this up from recent emails) with a possible extension to 4am if the numbers remaining dictate it. Ashton's is a great venue which is centrally located and is also a venue which we can light well and create a great ambience - but it is a big venue and this has been a concern for us. What we don't want towards the end of the evening is a dance floor that looks empty as the atmosphere may dissipate as people reach their natural leaving point.
If this goes well, depending on feedback, we may look at running more extended freestyles and may also look to run an all nighter twice a year. We do however, take very seriously the concerns raised about people traveling home early in the morning after being up all night. I know this would be the individual's responsibility, but we do also have to act responsibly as the organizers of such an event.
Unfortunately we cannot go the Bank Holiday all nighter route at this stage as there are no venues currently available to support this.
Emails will be going out giving further information in the next two or three weeks as well as info being posted on the website.
Thanks again for your support and feedback and we look forward to seeing many of you at Twickenham tonight.
Rocky.
This sounds excellent. A brilliant starting point. You guys have really given this some great thought. I hope it goes fabulously well for you.
Ok sport fans at least a sensible outcome has been reached.
Trouble and i will be coming, if Rocky has not got the hump with us, i think he will not as he is bigger than that.
We will look forward to seeing you all there. XXX XXX
Sounds like a plan.. only been to one utopia in evesham but this one sounds brill...
Specifically at Ashtons from a safety point of view there may be a significant difference between a declared 4am finish and a 4am extension.
A possible 3am finish leaves driving as pretty much the only option. With a certain 4am finish most people would have a choice.
That choice is the individual's responsibility but at least Ceroc/Utopia would have done what it can in making that choice available.
Safety aside, there might be some commercial benefit in making the event accessible both to people who might normally leave dances early to catch the last train/tube/bus home, and people further distant who don't want long drives Friday night and Saturday morning.
I don't know if lighting and/or speaker configuration could be setup as adjustable to aid in maintaining the atmosphere.
As you say, it's the responsibility of the individual to make sure that they don't drive if they feel unfit to do so. I don't see that the finish time of an event should be dictated by whether it's sensible for some people to drive long distances afterwards. That smacks of nannyism.
With a little planning, it's easy to make arrangements so that you don't have to drive home. These days, there's a plethora of cheap hotels, and there are generally people who'll put you up.
Well 4:30am would be perfect*.
Ashtons itself is unusual in being right next to both 24 hour rail and bus services (to limited destinations including central London), but most people don't live in those locations.
The circle line between London termini starts running about 5 am and the majority of first trains / tube start leaving central London termini ~ 5:30 am.
So at 4am that allows an hour after the dance to get to Central London, and half an hour to get to the right central London station.
* 4am is perfect for the Brighton direction, as the first train from Cricklewood to Brighton leaves just a few minutes after.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks