From ShangriLa to ShangriNaah

Club Shangri La promised to be an ‘underground festival’, and for a few months, it kept its promise.

But, a year later and the party’s over. And it’s another same old, boring club night.

This time last year, Club ShangriLa at Arches was the place to be on a Wednesday night.

There were jugglers, face painters, and a giant football pitch; yes you read correctly.

There has been zorbing, people on stilts, an incredible live singer, and the best photographer ever – who doesn’t love a fish eye lense?

Students raved about Shangri La, they flocked from all over Glasgow for this once a week underground festival.

Back in the day when drinks were cheap and shangrila was fun

Now, it looks like it’s gotten too big for it’s boots with punters left dissapointed by the poor atmosphere.

Last week proved just how far ShangriLa has fallen. English Lit and Theatre Studies student Tess said: “I first went to Shangrila last year, like a month after freshers. To be honest, I didn’t go that often before it was moved to St Jude’s.

“When I first went it was really fun, like a huge festival with loads of different parts and different music. There were people face painting and you always bumped into random people from Uni. You could just run around on your own and always bump into someone you know.

“Only thing was that the queues for drinks were massive.”

Drinks at Shangrila were only £1 each causing delays at the bar. The club night got so big that they had to open up new areas to accommodate all the students that wanted to experience the festival feel.

And now: “The Shangrila I went to last week was 100 per cent different to what I had expected. The stages were different, the music had changed, there was no fun stuff to do. It was pretty empty and the atmosphere was pretty weird.

“I still had a really good time though, because I was really drunk, but it’s a bad sign when you have to be really drunk to enjoy somewhere”.

The place was dead, entry was £6 and drinks were £1.50. What happened to the throngs of people, the £3 entry and the £1 drinks?

my outrage is still there a week later.

Maybe if they spent more time recreating the festival atmosphere we all know and love, and less time trying to cut back to make more profit, then the students would come back again.

Until then, it’s off to Viper on a Wednesday. And a Monday. And sometimes a Friday.