The History of World HQ - The First World Headquarters 🌍 WHQ opened it’s doors on the site of the former Club Afrika in Summer 1993. It was opened as a direct response to mainstream culture and relied on word of mouth promotion amongst like minded people in the city. It was the only Black owned club venue North of Leeds and it relied on its independence to protect itself from racism which was sadly still rife in the city in the early 90s. We even pretended to have a police vetted membership system, which was entirely made up, in a bid to deter people who didn’t agree with our vision of musical and cultural harmony. After redesigning the layout of the venue the club opened as a true safe space without commercial concerns and was frequented by an initial small group of friends that rapidly swelled in to a whole musical and cultural community.