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Music & clubs

Critic’s top four safe-bet New Year’s Eve parties

Late planning your New Year's Eve? Well, if you were thinking of staying in, these four parties might inspire you to brave a club or two. Here's our music critic's top four best-bet parties to ring in 2020.

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Photo by Guido Woller

Photo by Guido Woller. Try the retro room at Schwuz this New Year’s Eve!

The standard advice for going out on New Year’s Eve is “don’t bother”, but in case you weren’t aware, 2020 is the year of the rat, and that augurs extremely well for unlikely victories. It’s time to take a chance! Berghain, the 1500-capacity club, is for once your best bet of getting in; with 60 hours of the world’s best DJs on show this is a numbers game (01:00). Yet bigger is by no means better: it’s a hard pass for Funkhaus. The too-good-to-be-true lineup and outrageous pricing are sure to result in a turgid, joyless affair that even Helena Hauff can’t redeem. Try Fitzroy instead: the 250-capacity waterside club can boast an unbeatable sunrise soundtracked by scene-favou­rite Evan Baggs, and talented left-field choices DJ Masda, Saverio Ce­lestri for just €10 (23:59). Elsewhere, Plo Man’s presence on the bill at the Climate Of Fear loft party makes it a pound-for-pound contender at €20 (23:59). Of course, it’s not all techno, and the debauched glitz of the retro room at Schwuz promises some of the most infectious vibes in the city (22:00).