Inside UNVRS Opening Party: Ibiza’s Most Surreal Club Debuts with a Bang
Opening night at UNVRS was a trip through light, sound and surreal design - featuring secret rooms, sky decks, and an A-list roster of selectors.
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On Friday, May 30th, a new chapter began in Ibiza nightlife as UNVRS - the enigmatic new venue from the team behind Ushuaïa and Hï - opened its doors for the first time. It wasn’t just another club launch. It was something else entirely: a sprawling, surreal environment that feels equal parts rave sanctuary, art installation, and sci-fi film set.
Built in secret over several years and led by Yann Pissenem, founder of The Night League, UNVRS has already stirred conversation long before its first beat dropped - thanks in part to a cryptic UFO “landing” teaser campaign (which included a cameo by Will Smith). But once inside, the hype gave way to something far more ambitious: a modular venue that blends architecture, mythology, and immersive design in a way Ibiza hasn't seen before.
Located near Ibiza Town, UNVRS is shaped by a loose narrative: a long-lost club rediscovered centuries later, reengineered to withstand time itself. The design, though undeniably futuristic, is grounded in the earthy textures and whitewashed palette of a traditional Ibizan finca. Guests arrive to find a massive UFO sculpture lodged at the entrance like it crash-landed into the hillside.
Step inside and you’re immediately pulled into a descending main staircase that opens onto a vast arena-like space. Towering walls host kinetic visuals, LED architecture, and a hypnotic light display - all synced to a custom L-Acoustics soundsystem tuned with almost obsessive detail. It’s a venue built for scale, but one that seems aware of the emotional microclimates that make a night memorable.
UNVRS doesn’t behave like a traditional club. Instead of a central main room flanked by chill-out zones and bars, the venue unfurls like a labyrinth - one where each room feels distinct, almost like a gallery. A mirrored corridor gives way to outdoor terraces. A brutalist dome crowned with a glowing sculpture (the "Tree of Life") hides a tranquil garden deck. Somewhere deep inside the venue’s heart, past the main dancefloor, sits a club-inside-a-club hidden in the toilets - yes, really.
Called "Wild Comet", the micro-venue features a DJ booth surrounded by LED-reactive walls and its own treated soundsystem. It’s both a tongue-in-cheek commentary on club culture’s obsession with exclusivity and an actual room where the music - courtesy of selectors like Pascal Moscheni, Salomé Le Chat and Paul Reynolds - kept going long after sunrise.
VIP culture is here too, of course, but reimagined with some flair: an inverted-U shaped balcony arcs above the dancefloor, creating panoramic views of the main space. Elsewhere, culinary partner VICIO has installed a high-concept burger bar serving caviar-topped chicken tenders - a far cry from the usual lukewarm panini.
The club’s opening night played out like a cinematic launch sequence. Under the creative direction of High Scream’s Romain Pissenem, production was built around kinetic LED rigs, acrobats, lasers mounted on motorized winches, and smoke blasts timed to accent key drops. The effect was both theatrical and immersive—closer to festival production than a typical club night.
Musically, the night opened with Dutch selector Carista dropping Tornado Wallace’s “Bitter Suite (Symphony Mix),” setting a spacious, melodic tone. Ahmed Spins and a b2b from Adam Ten and Mita Gami followed, heating things up ahead of a standout set from Michael Bibi - marking one of his most high-profile returns to the island.
Later, two heavyweight b2bs took the reins: Joseph Capriati and The Martinez Brothers went deep with rolling techno, handing over to Carl Cox and Jamie Jones, whose sunrise-tinged set closed with the rave classic “Playing With Knives” It was a goosebump moment - the kind Ibiza tends to store in its collective memory.
UNVRS opens at a time when Ibiza’s nightlife is both saturated and fragmented. Venues lean on legacy bookings, while others chase big-room spectacle. UNVRS attempts something trickier: to create a space that can shapeshift. It’s designed to hold house, techno, live AV, and theatrical performance in equal measure.
Its summer schedule reflects that range. Among the announced residencies: Eric Prydz returns with HOLOSPHERE 2.0; Anyma brings his AI-infused visuals; Jamie Jones goes interstellar with Sands of Solaris; and Carl Cox returns for a dedicated Sunday series. There are also full takeovers from elrow and FISHER, and one-off shows from Sara Landry and ANOTR.
Whether it finds longevity in a transient scene will depend not just on big names and visual wow factor, but how it cultivates those between-the-margins moments: sunrise sets, quiet conversations in Gravity Garden, late-night discoveries in Wild Comet.
For now, UNVRS has landed, and Ibiza may never look quite the same again.
