Skip to main content

DJS UNITE TO STOP IBIZA OIL DRILLING

Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Sasha and many more opposed

The main Ibiza party season may still be a few months away, but the island has been a hive of activity in recent weeks. This, however, hasn't been for the usual reasons.

Thousands of people who live on the island, including many from the dance music community, have started campaigning to stop oil drilling off the coast of Ibiza. Tens of thousands have signed physical petitions and made representations in person using their passports to register their opposition to the proposed drilling — and there's still more that can be done.

In 2011 the Spanish government granted Scottish company Cairn Energy the right to explore an area between Ibiza and the coast of Valencia in order to drill for oil. Mapping the seabed to search for potential hydro-carbons will be followed by exploratory drilling, which could have a devastating effect on local marine life.

“If you love the Mediterranean sea, its coasts and beaches, its valuable wildlife; if you do not want to see oil platforms in the sea; if you don't want to find oil polluting the waters or messing the coast; if you do not want the death of cetaceans, turtles and seabirds, or disappearance of fishing, then this should interest you,” says a statement on the Space Ibiza website.

This Friday February 7th there's a benefit gig at Pacha Ibiza where people can sign a last minute petition before all opposition signatories are presented to government officials in Berlin. The event is a fundraiser for Alianza Mar Balva, co-ordinating efforts against the drilling and urging the authorities to issue a Negative Environmental Impact certificate to prevent the exploration going ahead.

Many DJs have a special place in their hearts for the special island of Ibiza, and lots spend the whole summer living on the island — if not the whole year round. That's why DJs such as Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Dan Ghenacia, Marco Carola, Sarah Main, Dyed Soundorom, Richie Hawtin, Seth Troxler, Sasha and many more have been registering their opposition to the drilling by tweeting campaign posters, signing petitions and doing Facebook posts about it.

Ibiza-loving celebrities such as Kate Moss, Jade Jagger, Sienna Miller and James Blunt have also come out against the drilling.

Only physical petitions have a legal standing with the Spanish government, but this online petition — in Spanish — is a good way of people outside of Ibiza registering their opposition to the oil drilling. Sign the petition here 

It's also worth publicising the campaign to oppose the Ibiza oil drilling on your social networks and so on.

More info here.