Following a record-breaking 2025 edition that drew 600,000 visitors, 3,500 artists, and over 1,200 events across more than 300 venues, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) looks ahead with excitement to 2026 — a landmark year marking three decades of electronic music culture.
The 30th edition of ADE will take place from Wednesday, October 21 to Sunday, October 26, 2026.
This year’s program reflected ADE’s ever-expanding scope and inclusivity, spanning a wide array of genres, subgenres, live performances, and cultural crossovers within its Festival and Arts & Culture segments. Highlights included a series of ADE Opening Specials spread across the city; the “black queer church” PRAISE, conceived by Honey Dijon x Audio Obscura at Nieuwe Kerk; major shows such as Klangkuenstler at the Ziggo Dome and Awakenings in its new SugarFactory home; and a thriving underground scene at venues like SkateCafe, Garage Noord, RAUM, Klaproos, Tilla Tec, Studio Wieman, Lofi, and De Bajes — to name just a few.
The ADE Conference also saw exciting developments this year, with the addition of the new Pro venue at Rosewood and the relocation of ADE Lab to Westergas. Both moves were met with great enthusiasm, offering enhanced networking opportunities, an expanded professional program, and a fully immersive experience for the next generation of creatives at the Lab.
Speakers and guests included prominent artists, founders, and industry leaders such as Skepta, KI/KI, Eris Drew, Chris Stussy, TxC, ANNA, Chris Liebing, along with representatives from Google DeepMind, Epic Games, SoundCloud, Spotify, COLORSxSTUDIOS, Helix Records, Sony Music, Tomorrowland Brasil, and many more.
Over the past three decades, ADE has evolved into the world’s foremost platform for electronic music, shaping the foundations of a genre that has grown from the underground into a globally recognized art form and thriving industry. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, ADE will unveil in the coming months a series of special initiatives and events honoring this milestone in electronic music history.
photo by Sacha Hoebergen and Tom Doms
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