The world’s largest and most influential celebration of electronic music is gearing up for a historic milestone. Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) has officially announced the dates for its 30th anniversary edition, set to take place October 21–25, 2026. The announcement follows the conclusion of a record-breaking 2025 edition that drew an unprecedented 600,000 visitors and featured nearly 3,500 artists performing at more than 1,200 events across 300 venues throughout Amsterdam.
This year’s edition marked a defining moment for ADE, reflecting its continued evolution as both a festival and a global hub for creativity, culture, and innovation. From monumental mainstage productions to intimate underground showcases, the 2025 program highlighted the incredible range and depth of the electronic music spectrum. Audiences experienced a citywide takeover featuring everything from Honey Dijon’s “PRAISE” black queer church with Audio Obscura at Nieuwe Kerk, to large-scale spectacles such as Klangkuenstler at Ziggo Dome and Awakenings’ debut at SugarFactory. Meanwhile, smaller venues like SkateCafe, Garage Noord, RAUM, Klaproos, Tilla Tec, Studio Wieman, Lofi, and De Bajes offered experimental, community-driven alternatives that captured Amsterdam’s underground spirit.
ADE’s Arts & Culture programming continued to deepen the festival’s multidisciplinary appeal, bridging electronic music with visual art, fashion, and performance. Each year, the event’s inclusivity and diversity grow stronger—reflected in its embrace of all subgenres and communities that make electronic music a living, breathing global culture.
On the industry side, ADE Pro underwent significant upgrades in 2025 with the addition of a new venue, Rosewood, which provided expanded space for panels, keynotes, and networking. The move of ADE Lab to Westergas also proved highly successful, creating an immersive playground for the next generation of music makers. The conference featured a powerhouse lineup of voices shaping the industry’s future, including Skepta, KI/KI, Eris Drew, Chris Stussy, TxC, ANNA, and Chris Liebing, alongside major players such as Google DeepMind, Epic Games, SoundCloud, Spotify, COLORSxSTUDIOS, Helix Records, Sony Music, and Tomorrowland Brasil. These collaborations underscored ADE’s continued leadership at the intersection of technology, creativity, and global business.
As ADE prepares to celebrate “1996–2026: 30 Years of Driving Electronic Music Forward,” the organization reflects on three decades of extraordinary influence. What began as a small gathering for industry professionals has transformed into the beating heart of the global electronic music scene—an annual convergence that shapes trends, launches careers, and fosters artistic innovation worldwide.
To honor its 30th anniversary, ADE plans to unveil a series of special events, collaborations, and retrospective initiatives in the months leading up to October 2026. These celebrations will pay homage to the past while looking ahead to the future of electronic music and culture.
As the countdown begins, one thing is certain: Amsterdam Dance Event 2026 will not only mark a milestone in the festival’s history but will also stand as a testament to three decades of global creativity, connection, and evolution in electronic music.
