A 20-year-old Eurodance hit by Dutch group Vengaboys has a new lease of life thanks to Austria’s political scandal.
We’re Going to Ibiza, which celebrates partying on the Balearic island, is top of the iTunes charts in Austria and has climbed the Spotify charts too.
The song’s revival follows an Austrian government crisis over a secret video of two far-right politicians appearing to offer shady deals in an Ibiza villa.
Young anti-government protesters in Vienna chanted the song last weekend.
The way charts are measured has changed since 1999, and although it was top of the iTunes downloads chart in Austria it was well down the Spotify list at 73.
It was placed at four on the company’s “Viral 50” playlist.
Vengaboys credited German TV satirist Jan Böhmermann with their unexpected resurgence.
The popular satirist tweeted the music video on 17 May, as the political scandal was emerging, with a raised eyebrow emoji and the European flag, and he has since called for the Vengaboys to perform in Vienna.
He is thought to have been aware of the video of the two far-right politicians in Ibiza even before it was made public.
The “Ibiza-gate” secret video culminated in the collapse of Austria’s so-called “turquoise-blue” coalition, named after the colours of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP)
The video was recorded in 2017, weeks before the election that brought the far right to power.
In the footage, released last Friday by German media, far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache appears to offer public contracts to a woman purported to be a Russian oligarch’s niece if she buys a big stake in an Austrian newspaper.
After he resigned, the ensuing political row prompted all his far-right ministerial colleagues to leave the government. They were replaced by technocrats on Wednesday.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is now set to face a vote of no confidence on Monday.
