After months of trepidation and changes, Amsterdam Dance Event 2021 officially begins today.

To match the olympian efforts the team underwent to get this event over the line, the beginning will be symbolised by the lighting of art installation BAKEN (Beacon): a light on the horizon for the electronic music industry, set to shine over the entire city of Amsterdam from the roof of the A’DAM Tower during ADE.

The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), an initiative of Buma, has grown into the world’s largest and most influential club-based festival and conference for electronic music. The event continues to grow and develop each year, with last year’s edition featuring over 2,500 artists and 600 speakers in almost 200 venues. The five-day event attracts visitors from over 146 countries and features every conceivable aspect of electronic music culture, with dedicated conference programming, an extensive arts & culture program, live music and DJ/artist performances, all spread across the city of Amsterdam.

Over 350 Festival and Arts & Culture events are set to take place during the daytime this week, with highlights such as a one-off live concert by Weval and Metropole Orkest at the Melkweg and the Top 100 DJs Awards in AFAS Live today (Wednesday), the Dutch debut of the Secret Project Festival on the Hembrugterrein, African riddims during Cloud 8 x Ziongate presents Tribes in Paradiso, and much more. 

In addition, the organization welcomes its brand new Arts & Culture program this year, which includes, among many others, an audiovisual artist residency at Nxt Museum and a collaboration project with Music Moves consisting of 11 accessible and inclusive ADE events, as well as a candlelit piano concert by Helena Basilova, and a wide range of mindful raving experiences.
 
Although the Amsterdam Dance Event business conference has been canceled, the organization has opened its new ADE Business Hangout for business visitors in Fosbury & Sons to gather, network and participate in a number of networking events during ADE.