Storied Paris venue Le Palace is set to reopen next year after French producer Mickael Chétrit purchased the building it formerly sat in.
The legendary disco club – famously frequented by the likes of Prince, Grace Jones and Mick Jagger in its heyday – is being revived by Chétrit, who purchased the building that formerly housed Le Palace on Rue du Faubourg in the city’s theatre district last year.
Chétrit later revealed his plans to “revive this unique, world-renowned space” and “restore” the venue, which closed in 1982 when its then-owner, Fabrice Emaer, was diagnosed with cancer.
Le Palace first opened in 1978, largely inspired by the famed New York disco haunt Studio 54. In its short but successful run, it saw a host of creatives and musicians like Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Marley, Donna Summer, Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfeld come through its doors.
Then, after the club’s closure, the venue was taken over by squatters for a spell before being reopened as a theatre and concert hall, which was ultimately shuttered permanently in 2023.
“I’m thrilled to announce that I’m taking over the management of this legendary venue, where the greatest artists, from Gainsbourg to Prince, have performed,” Chétrit said last year.
Though originally thought to be opening later this year, The Guardian reports that Le Palace will now return in 2027. Chétrit notes that he has already received numerous requests from artists to perform at the venue.
“I’m too young to remember the club in its heyday, but I’ve seen the photos and documentaries, and I’ve spoken to people who used to come here,” he told the publication. “In those days, everyone knew Le Palace.”
Chétrit is working alongside famed French architect Jacques Garcia on the project, with plans to “respect that spirit and the history and what people experienced here”.
“I didn’t want to change everything and create something completely new, it’s about keeping the name and using the history of what it was to create what it will become,” he concluded.