06 December 2023 , 13:40
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Revellers can party out above the snowline with sweeping views of the peaks at Europe's highest disco.
Tiny nightclub Detour Discotheque 2024 is returning for its third outing from May 10 to 12 next year, moving to a spot between the Birg and Schilthorn mountains 2,970m above sea level. In its first year party people schlepped out to Iceland for the far-flung festival before it move to the remote Hebridean island of Coll this summer.
With tickets on sale from Sunday 10 December and a capacity of just 300, the event is likely to sell out quickly as with previous years. Guests will be staying down the valley in the traditional Alpine villages of Lauterbrunnen and Mürren.
Detour Discotheque pays homage to legendary nightclubs of the 1970s like Studio 54 and Paradise Garage, creating glamorous dance floors in the most remote and unexpected places.
Its founder Jonny Ensall said: “Detour is all about finding spectacular locations for intimate parties, and this is as stunning as it gets. The cable car ride alone is heart-stopping. A nightclub at 3,000m is definitely our most ambitious project yet.”
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The disco stopped off in Coll this year (Detour Discotheque)
It opens its doors to a select few adventurous revellers (Detour Discotheque)The main venue for Detour Discotheque 2024 is Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant atop the Schilthorn mountain, which will open on Saturday 11 May and is reached via four separate cable car journeys, totalling 32 minutes.
The terrace at Birg station, with views of the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains, will be used for a day party on Friday 10 May, while the traditional Trinkhalle (drinking hall) outside Interlaken is the venue for the final day on Sunday 12 May. The first acts announced include DJ Paulette, a veteran of Manchester’s Haçienda nightclub, and a recipient of a DJ Mag lifetime achievement award. Also booked to appear are Norsicaa, who runs Soundway Records label, and re-edit collective Talking Drums.
Weekend tickets start from £199 and include £160 worth of cable car travel. Anyone subscribed to the Detour Discotheque mailing list will have access to pre-sale ticket allocation from Tuesday 5 December.
Lauterbrunnen is a famously beautiful village, overlooked by the 297m-high Staubbach Falls, and surrounded by green pastures. The valley rises to the base station at Stechelberg, from where cable cars ascend to Mürren, a car-free village, then Birg and Schilthorn.
Spring activities in the valley include river rafting, paragliding, mountain hikes and farm visits. Local restaurants serve traditional Swiss cuisine, including fondue and rösti, accompanied by spectacular views.
The Mirror visited last year's Detour Disco on Coll where beat heads from across the country spent three heady days getting down and dirty in the community hall there. One woman had dragged two of her friends from London to stay in the cavernous, 14 person Breachacha Castle after impulsively booking it in the middle of the night. Two others brought relentless energy to the dancefloor despite having endured a horror journey of multiple trains, a cancelled ferry and ride aboard an expensive propeller plane which subsequently broke after landing on the island's sheep strewn airstrip.
The party went on deep in to the night and saw locals - perhaps used to a quieter way of life - fully get into the swing of things by dancing on the local hotel bar and staging an impromptu rave in the cellar of a local church until the sun began to rise.