Joe GallopAmsterdam Dance Event (ADE), organised by the Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation, hosted a record 500,000 visitors throughout its festival and conferences this month.
The 28th edition of the electronic music event hosted more than 2,900 artists at more than 1,000 events and initiatives taking place in over 200 locations across the city, with 650,000 tickets sold in total.
Standout events at ADE, which took place from 18-22 October, included the opening event at Rijksmuseum by upsammy, Metropole Orkest & Tinlicker, a one-off b2b between KI/KI and Armin van Buuren, and social impact events by Music Moves.
ADE Pro Conference
In addition to the sold-out festival events, the ADE Pro Conference extended its programming to four days for the first time this year at Amsterdam’s Felix Meritis.
Tech experts from companies such as Google, TuneCore and SEG discussed the impact of Artificial Intelligence, and platforms including Spotify, TikTok, YouTube and Beatport offered real insider knowledge to attendees.
The new ADE Startups also kicked off a year-long development platform for innovative startups, and international event organisers gathered for a discussion on the future of festivals.
The conference also invited artists on stage, including Grandmaster Flash, The Blessed Madonna, Röyksopp and Max Cooper – with the latter two also hosting one-off live performances for all conference attendees.
Familiar staples such as Speedy J’s STOOR, Audio Obscura, Martin Garrix’ 18+ and All Ages events, also saw their return to the ADE festival, alongside new collaborations such as Andalusisch Orkest x Mary Lake and Het HEM x Horst.
The second year of the talent development gathering ADE Lab saw more than 2,000 young artists, producers and aspiring professionals learn from artists including Reinier Zonneveld, Mama Snake, Saoirse, Héctor Oaks and A-Trak.
Next year’s edition of ADE will take place from 16-20 October.