1991 : When Eva changed the nightlife

1991 : WHEN EVA CHANGED THE NIGHTLIFE Hello, happy to be back for this first post of 2026, and best wishes to everyone. Let’s kick things off with the next chapter of my series on major changes in club culture. Back in the 1980s, nightlife wasn’t seen as a problem. Clubs were running at full capacity, everyone was partying, and no one was really asking questions. Then, in the early ’90s, after the events at the Boccaccio, everything shifted. The decision came down hard: closing time set at 5 a.m. Suddenly, authorities seemed to be watching every nightclub closely. What they wanted to regulate was what they now considered the real issue: drugs — and especially the one directly associated with electronic music, XTC. At the end of the ’80s, it was mostly reserved for a small circle and circulated fairly discreetly. But at the start of the new decade, it was no longer marginal, no longer hidden. It was there — mainly in clubs — and dealers quickly saw the opportunity. A small pill, sold at the time for around 600 Belgian francs / 100 French francs, moving by the hundreds. At first, no one really knew what to think. Then came the first incidents, the stories filtering through, the reports on the evening news. The party started to worry people. That’s when clubs began to realise it was time to raise awareness. No one truly understood the risks yet. Prevention campaigns followed. Not all at once, not through a big announced plan. They arrived quietly. Messages inside clubs, on flyers, on posters — sometimes at the bar or in the toilets. The tone was direct, no beating around the bush: watch out for dehydration, watch out for overheating, watch out for mixing substances. XTC could kill. Full stop. Clubs found themselves carrying that message, facing a wave that no one really managed to control anymore. It was strange. The nightclub became both a place of freedom and a space where you were reminded that drugs were illegal and dangerous to your health. At the same time, everything started to be measured. A bit later, it would be sound levels. Nightlife became something regulated, monitored, explained. Not to shut it down, but to make it acceptable — and to avoid excesses, especially in car parks and, above all, on the road. It wasn’t a crusade against partying. It was more subtle than that. But clearly, from that moment on, the night was no longer a space outside the system. It entered reality, with rules, risks, and accountability. The dangers were now known — but parties in Belgium have always been bigger, wilder. It didn’t really stop anyone. To be continued