Bassiani is a famous place. Often talked of as one of the world’s best clubs (and as the best by, weirdly, Hostel World), it is a thing to behold. Unfolding corridors in the basement of Georgia’s biggest football stadium lead you to an empty Olympic swimming pool that serves as the dance floor. The broken tiles, raw concrete and dizzying lights give the venue a post-apocalyptic kind of chic that just can’t be found in the West — it’s like clubbing in the Blade Runner pyramid. Like most of Tbilisi’s serious nightclubs, it’s always been proudly gay-friendly, but for Bassiani, there was still something missing. “If you don’t have a healthy queer scene in the city it’s impossible to have a healthy clubbing scene. The two are connected,” says Getia.

But, he adds, Horoom was also founded as an “intentional political statement” in response to the pervading climate of homophobia in Georgia, and the regular violence that is meted out to sexual minorities, often with the acquiescence of the authorities. It has become a symbol of just how far the country has come in the last few years.

“Trying to create something different to beat homophobia, it all started for me from 17 May [2013],” says Kikonishvili, referring to the day that is now known as “the pogrom”. On that day, in broad daylight on Tbilisi’s central square, a mob of tens of thousands descended on a tiny group of LBGTQ activists and allies who had gathered to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Led by priests in full vestments, and in full sight of the police, the mob descended on the fleeing activists, trapping them in municipal busses and pursuing them through the centre of the city. The activists were lucky to escape with their lives. Four arrests were made but there were no convictions.