Sheffield nightclub Hope Works to close permanently in February 2025
Founder Liam O’Shea has chosen to step away from the 400-capacity venue, which first opened in 2012, to “achieve a greater sense of balance in his life”
Sheffield's Hope Works has announced that it will close permanently at the end of February 2025.
Announcing the news today (December 16) via a post on Instagram, the venue said that the decision had come as a result of founder Liam O’Shea (aka Lo Shea) needing to step away “in order to achieve a greater sense of balance in his life."
Discussing the Sussex Road 400-capacity venue, that first opened in 2012, O’Shea said: “I have dedicated 12 years to Hope Works. It has been my passion, an act of determined resilience to create something in Sheffield like no other. A uniquely programmed beacon of hope and restless freedom in the Steel City.
“It has to be said that running an underground venue in today’s ever-shifting and volatile nightlife landscape has been challenging,” he continued. “We haven’t been immune to the difficulties facing so many grassroots musical venues. We survived COVID and delivered hundreds of parties since 2012. However, for me to continue to expand my work into new areas and have time for my family, which is so important to me, something had to change.
Read this next: Premiere: Lo Shea proves Hope Works is the UK’s premier site for warehouse techno
“That change was sadly to let Hope Works as a venue on Sussex Road, Sheffield, be put to rest.”
He will continue to focus on No Bounds Festival, an experimental music and arts event which takes place across various venues in Sheffield and Rotherham.
Read this next: Sheffield’s No Bounds shares 2024 line-up featuring Flowdan, Manuka Honey, DJ Storm and more
There will be a series of closing parties, with its final weekend taking place between February 21 and February 23. Most are yet to be announced, though the series will be kicked off by its NYE Rave-Up, January 31 will host the Off Me Nut 15th Birthday, while Mala and Tash LC will play at the La Rumba x Dubshack 8th birthday on February 8.
For tickets to the NYE Rave-up on December 31, visit Hope Works’s official website.
Isaac Muk is a freelance writer, follow him on Bluesky
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