Lisbon nightclub Planeta Manas announces closure following string of police raids

Lisbon queer venue Planeta Manas has announced that it will close for good on July 25 following a string of police raids in the last five months.

Announced via a statement on Instagram yesterday (April 24), the venue wrote: “Even though we carry no regrets, we’ve reached a point where maintaining the physical existence of this incarnation of Planeta Manas is coming at such a human, emotional, and physical cost that we can no longer keep the space open without compromising our values and ideals.”

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The venue was established in 2021 as a joint venture between queer collectives Rádio Quântica and mina. While Planeta Manas had enjoyed a number of years at its Rua Ary dos Santos location, it was reportedly subjected to four police raids in five months that have financially impacted its running.

The last police raid, on February 8, saw plainclothes police officers enter a party at the venue – during which Planeta Manas employees claimed attendees were “physically assaulted with truncheons” and “illegally searched people without informing us of the reasons for the search.”

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In their statement yesterday, the team behind Planeta Manas explained the impact the raids have had on the club, writing: “Our financial situation is still difficult — we’re still in the red, so we’re giving one final push to our crowdfunding campaign to help cover the accumulated costs of equipment rentals, cleaning, licenses, and insurance, and ultimately, the losses caused by the various illegal police raids in the last months.”

Alongside a GoFundMe link to cover the costs of their losses, Planeta Manas wrote: “With the help of those who value our existence, we want to close our doors with peace of mind – so we can breathe and, who knows, gather the courage to one day face all the limitations imposed on us again, in a new space, more protected from abuse of power and the cruelty of the market.

You can read Planeta Manas’ full statement, below.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag’s Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter