DJs have previously taken over warehouses, fields, car parks and derelict office blocks to stage raves, but this summer they will commandeer a national broadcaster for a six-hour House Party.
In what is being described as "an unprecedented live television event", DJs such as Grandmaster Flash and Annie Mac will each give hour-long sets in a "clubbing experience like no other".
As Channel 4 puts it, "This is not a programme about clubbing; this is the club".
But the night will also feature the Idris Elba-narrated two-hour film How Clubbing Changed the World, tracking the history of the greatest youth culture phenomenon of our generation.
House Party will run without any adverts or the mediation of a presenter, and there will not be a studio audience; instead it will just transform living rooms, bedrooms and bars around the UK into dancefloors.
Commissioned by Channel 4 arts commissioner Tabitha Jackson and staged as part of the London 2012 Festival, the live event will be "a visually exciting, experimental and interactive night of music".
Jackson explained: "From the visual artists having to transform our screens by responding live to the DJs; to the scale of the real time on-screen and online interactivity; to the DJs having to reach directly into our living rooms rather than playing to a venue. If we can pull it off, we will have created a pretty unique experience.
"Great DJing is about much more than just hitting play and standing there with your hands in the air. We are about to get up close and personal with some of the world best exponents of the real art of turntablism.
"2012 is also the perfect summer for this television event. Not only does it mark 20 years since the ultimate free rave at Castlemorton, the weather has been rubbish and money is tight.
"There's never been a better time for us to throw the ultimate house party [and] bring an awesome lineup of talent directly into your living room for free. All you have to worry about is making sure you have enough friends and big speakers."
Jackson also confirmed that House Party will be distinct in that it will not be repeated or made available on 4oD, Channel 4's catch up TV service.
"Like all the best club nights and parties, if you want to be there you do have to actually turn up. Don't miss the House Party..." she said.
Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash and new DJ talent champion Annie Mac have already been confirmed for the event, with other names to be announced in due course.
