Amsterdam Dance Event: 7 Takeaways From the Rave Scene’s Biggest Conference

Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) took place in the Dutch capital last week (Oct. 22-26), with the city’s vibrant dance and electronic scene taking over bars, clubs and venues for a week of performances, panels and professional networking.

It’s not an overstatement to suggest that the city, a diverse and fun-loving hub of creativity in Europe, is totally taken over by the 600,000 fans and 10,000 music industry professionals who live and breathe electronic music. The city’s trams are given a special yellow-hued ADE decal, branded flags flutter in the wind next to the city’s canals, and beats spill out of bars onto cobbled streets. Move over Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh: Armin van Buuren, Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witte are coming to town.

Speaking to Billboard U.K. earlier this month, the festival’s director, Jan-Willem van de Ven, said relished the idea of making ADE the pinnacle of the electronic music industry’s calendar. “ADE is both an experience and business meeting point,” he said ahead of this year’s event. “You can discover well over a thousand events in the city, get marketing intelligence and find yourself in a space where creative communities are celebrated. For music pros, the priority is to come back every year because everybody is there; we want it to be the best moment of the year to do business.”

To that end, ADE is undoubtedly a success. Major figures from tech companies, labels, distributors and more convene in Amsterdam, while local ravers are treated to a feast of parties at the city’s most influential and revered venues. Next year is set to be the conference’s 30th anniversary, and this year’s edition teed up an almighty celebration. These were the biggest takeaways from 2025’s event.