25 years
1995
Swim & Dance
It all started back in '95 with the love for house music, some vinyl records, and a swimming pool.
After years of running his own drive-in show, Marnix Bal - a 21-year-old upcoming artist - faced prejudice towards house music for the first time. Back then, a four-on-the-floor beat meant trouble.
To avoid the bad rap house parties were getting, the young entrepreneur came up with a plan to disguise the party as a charity event for the newly set up Loveland Foundation; a charity organization to help raise attention for safe sex.
The plan worked, and on August 12th, 1995, the first ever Loveland party was born. Making sure not to raise suspicion, free condoms were handed out and the profit was donated to AIDS funds.
The event took place at the tropical swimming pool at the Gran Dorado holiday park in Zandvoort and fittingly got the name ‘Swim & Dance’. BBQ was cooked outdoors, cocktails were served indoors and artists like Dimitri, Godard, Michel de Hey, and Marnix himself using the moniker ‘DJ Marnada’, were making sure everyone danced till the sun came up.
By popular demand, Swim & Dance returned each summer for the next five years. In 2014 and 2015, it made a comeback at Loveland Weekender and in 2022, on the exact same day as the original party, Loveland will once again swim and dance at the tropical dancefloor of the Sloterparkbad to kick off the Loveland Festival weekend.
1997
First loveland van oranje
Celebrating the Dutch king and queen has been on Loveland’s agenda since 1997; making Loveland Queensday the longest running royal birthday party in Amsterdam. When Queen’s Day became King’s Day in 2013, the name of the event changed to ‘Loveland van Oranje’.
At the start, Loveland Queensday took place in the heart of Amsterdam, at the famous Nieuwmarkt, bringing the people of The Netherlands together to celebrate the birthday of their monarch at a free dance festival.
As the number of King's Day parties grew over the years in the city, the local government regulations were changing in tandem. To improve crowd management in Amsterdam during King’s Day, new policies required selling tickets for events and putting up fencing around terrains. As a result, Loveland van Oranje was forced to move away from the city center, even though over four hundred residents living in the area signed a petition against this.
Over the years not only the location, but the programming of the event progressed too. What you'll see at Loveland van Oranje now is a mix of local artists and bigger headline acts, attracting more visitors, edition after edition.
1997
Sanddance
A sunny day at the beach, the smell of the sea, an ice-cold drink in hand, good music playing in the background and dancing barefoot in the sand.
These ingredients proved to be a winning formula for Sanddance; Loveland’s first ever beach party in the summer of ‘97. After this, countless more events followed at Woodstock Bloemendaal and the location soon became the go-to venue for parties at the Dutch beach.
Later, Loveland, as the godfather of this concept, handled the programming of these beach events and organized the opening and closing party of each summer season until 2005.
1998
Thank god
it's friday
it's friday
Friday night: the perfect time to leave the weekly stress behind before heading into the weekend.
Born in the late '90s, the event series dubbed 'TGIF' perfectly embodied Friday vibes and soon became one of the most successful club nights in Amsterdam.
In collaboration with the Sinners Club, parties were organized every Friday for the next six years with special editions like Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Sinterklaas, selling out weeks in advance.
To say goodbye in style, on April 2nd, 2004, the final edition carried the slogan ‘Last chance to dance with Loveland at Sinners’. Artists playing that night were listed on the flyer simply as the ‘TGIF Allstars’.
2000
T-Dansant
After hosting events in nightclubs, beach clubs and on the street, bigger things were on the horizon for Loveland at the start of the new millennium. Back in the early 2000s, parties mostly occurred on Friday and Saturday, leaving the last day of the week for unwinding... Well, that is until T-Dansant showed up.
This new Sunday event allows visitors to close their week in a relaxed way and make them forget the arrival of Monday.
Lasting only till midnight at locations like the Artis Zoo, historic Amsterdam buildings, clubs and restaurants, T-Dansant gave visitors a truly unique experience. The secret recipe for this successful event was creating a party where all parts of the cultural world are present:
Fashion with shows of brands like Armani or Moschino,
Gastronomy with star chefs and mixologists,
Art with ceramics, painting or sewing workshops,
Sports with sailing boats or dancing
Leisure with massage or spiritual counseling,
Music with the widest spectrum from electronic to jazz and from latin to hip-hop.
2000
Rise
For those who've been to Loveland Festival more than once, this name might ring a bell. Today, Rise represents a stage at the festival, but just a bit over two decades ago it was one of the most popular events in town.
First organized on Ascension Day (hence the name Rise), the party offered an all-night-long experience.
Starting the night classy, an exclusive dinner served a limited number of people who wanted to avoid dancing with an empty stomach. Following the feast, the guests had to rise from their chairs as the doors opened for the public and the beat took over.
Rise offered a lineup with more progressive and well-known DJ's than any other club event at the time, which attracted a broader audience over the years. Many first-time visitors from this new crowd fell in love with dance events and became the first fans of Loveland aka the ‘Lovelanders’.
2002
A brand
new year
new year
For the first ten year of his career, Loveland-founder Marnix Bal played at five different events on NYE and NYD as DJ Marnada. After a decade, he decided it was time to skew all those gigs he didn't organize and host his own Loveland New Year's Eve party.
The celebration was planned as an all night long experience with a spectacular dinner, live musical acts, stand-up comedy performances and DJ's past midnight who ensured no one started the new year without dancing.
During the evening a fortune teller made sure that everyone was ready for the upcoming year and its challenges. If she looked into Loveland’s future, she might have predicted the popularity of the Loveland NYE parties, which in the end exceeded all expectations.
Year by year, the event got more popular, shaping up bigger and bolder, prompting Loveland to find a bigger location that can hold the ever-increasing lineup. The party that once started as a small gathering watching fireworks on the river Amstel, turned into a full-on warehouse festival with three dance areas, attracting thousands of visitors from all over the country.
2003
Fire
Following the takeover of Amsterdam’s nightlife, Loveland's ambition was to do organize parties in the rest of the country. Dreaming up a new concept called 'Fire!', Marnix and Loveland's marketing manager planned a three-year long country-wide club tour with 72 editions in seven cities. Knowing that the 10-year anniversary celebration of Loveland was approaching in the summer of 2005 and plans were made for a Loveland Festival (more on that later), the last edition of Fire! was planned to take place there.
Setting up shop from Hotel Arena Amsterdam, Fire! offered an exclusive and complete package for the night. Dinner, party, entertainment with fire artists and the possibility of an overnight stay in the hotel was all included. From there, this new event set the dancefloor on fire in a different city every first Saturday of the month.
Soon Fire! was quite literally the hottest party in the Netherlands, bringing together people from all different parts of the country. Owing to this highlight in Loveland's history, a stage at Loveland Festival carries the name of this concept.
2004
Ade special
As the years went by, the world of electronic music continued to grow in scope. What better example than The Netherlands own Amsterdam Dance Event? ADE is the biggest, most influential and educational gathering in the electronic music industry.
Those who are familiar with the event know that for one week the Dutch capital turns into the center of the dance music scene and it feels like wherever we look, there is a yellow flag representing an ADE event.
In Loveland’s history, the iconic neon flag first appeared at its doors of Hotel Arena in 2004, marking the start of an annual event that still exists to this day: Loveland ADE Special.
After the first ADE Special's overwhelming success, the following Specials only grew in popularity. By collaborating with various organizations in the dance scene such as Circoloco, Hyte, Afterlife and Diynamic, the Loveland ADE events attracted more and more visitors year by year. Launched in 2004 as one event at one location, it led to the biggest edition so far in 2021 with eight events at three locations.
2005
Loveland
Festival
Festival
We can all agree on one thing: the ten-year existence of Loveland demands a celebration like no other.
Transforming this idea into a reality, in 2005, the company organized Loveland Festival for the first time, which then became the flagship event of the brand.
August 14th seemed like a perfect day for a big, open-air festival in the summertime. Unfortunately, despite all the planning, the event was not allowed to go through on the original date, due to Cyclone Harvey causing heavy wind gusts and making the festival terrain unsafe.
Of course, a setback like this did not stop the team of Loveland from celebrating their one-decade anniversary. The lineup and the programs were quickly rescheduled; the new date of the festival was set only two weeks later.
On the 28th of August, for the first time in Loveland's history, visitors took over the beautiful Sloterpark to dance to good tunes, indulge into food and drinks, take a dip in one of the pools and to create art at DIY workshops.
Ever since its first edition, Loveland Festival has been all about high-quality music, flawless production, exciting programs and good atmosphere.
2008
Fight cancer tour
As the company of Loveland matured over the years, the opportunity to focus on social causes widened. In 2007 the label of ‘Fight Cancer’ was created with the help of the Dutch Cancer Society. To put the idea into action, the team of Loveland converted a garbage truck into a mobile disco and started the Fight Cancer tour around the country to raise awareness for this important cause.
The goal of the tour was dual. On the one hand, it celebrated life and encouraged people in their twenties and thirties to take concrete action. On the other hand, it actively fought against cancer and raised funds for cancer research plus counselling of cancer patients.
During these free events fan-favorite Loveland Festival artists were playing from the recognizable blue Fight Cancer van, meanwhile, volunteers informed the visitors about the mission of the organization. If that piqued your interest, you could register directly as a donor or purchase tickets for Loveland Festival, with half of the ticket price benefiting the Fight Cancer fund.
In just about 15 hours Loveland’s country-wide Fight Cancer tour raised €30,000! In the next seven years the blue truck visited more and more cities, topping the amount of money raised every edition.
2009
Sas bal
SAS Bal – the most special evening in Loveland’s history – was a classic gala ball with a fundraiser, but with a modern twist of electronic music. The unique characteristics, daring approach, location and above all: the motivation behind this event made it extraordinary.
Founder of Loveland Marnix Bal and his sister Marianne are one of the many who faced the loss of a loved one due to cancer. Their sister Saskia passed away at the age of 27. In memory of her, the event got the name SAS Bal.
To commemorate all the deceased cancer patients who now shine like stars in the sky, SAS also represented the acronym for ‘See All Stars’. On its website, everyone could add the name of their deceased loved one and let a star shine for them in the (digital) sky.
To set up the evening in a chic style, the team of Loveland went above and beyond for a unique musical programming. The ball was held in the legendary building of Beurs van Berlage where many famous events – such as royal weddings – took place. Singers, musicians, DJ's and stand-up comedians were invited to entertain the elegantly dressed crowd.
The goal of the evening was to raise €50.000 financial aid for supporting cancer patients. To reach that sum, a benefit auction was held where attendees could bid on paintings by famous Dutch artists.
Loveland and various sponsors called ‘Friends of Sas’, organized the event entirely non-profit. The ticket sales and the auction earnings benefited the Fight Cancer foundation, which gives guidance for cancer patients and conducts scientific cancer research.
2011
909 festival
If Loveland started with the love for house music, 909 Festival surely started with the love for techno music.
The festival owes its name to the iconic Roland TR-909 drum machine. In 1983, this new gadget entered the market and became a commercial failure almost instantly, as musicians initially did not know what to do with it. Years later, it was picked up from pawn shops by the less fortunate musicians of Detroit and Chicago. These artists became the first techno producers who established the characteristic sounds of the genre with the 909 drum rhythm composer.
In 2011, paying homage to the miraculous origins of techno, Loveland organized a new festival with a simple recipe: quality music with a killer lineup in an intimate setting.
Year after year 909 Festival celebrates the pioneers of techno, invites upcoming artists and supports local talent. Creating a contrast with its industrial sound, 909 nests in the greens of the Amsterdam Forest which adds to the special experience that isn't like any other event in Loveland’s portfolio.
2011
Nest
Nest (noun, 3rd meaning): a cozy place or home.
Fitting with the dictionary’s description, the party of Nest was all about creating a warm, friendly and comfortable environment for all Lovelanders.
Following the takeover of the Dutch party scene with club events like T-Dansant & Fire! and festivals like Loveland & 909, it was high time for a small and exclusive gathering.
A few times a year, Marnix invited his closest dj-friends to deejay with him. Nest was all about connection, intimate atmosphere and some old-fashioned club night elements. Being the company’s smallest event ever, the tickets were very limited and selling out way in advance.
Nest gave a place for the Lovelanders to link up and share this special experience with each other. Creating a similarly cozy and homelike atmosphere, the smallest stage at Loveland Festival is named after this concept.
2012
Loveland
on ice
on ice
Organizing outdoor parties during summer, spring and fall was already customary at the Loveland Office. However, hosting a winter outdoor event was unimaginable, up until 2012 when the temperature dropped below zero for several days in a row and everybody in Amsterdam got ‘schaatskoorts’ also known as ‘ice skate fever’.
Finding the thickest ice that could hold the biggest crowd, Loveland took over the lake of Flevopark and organized an impromptu ice-skating party.
Drinks were served from the back of a small van while Loveland’s own employees were deejaying to warm up the audience with the hottest tunes. Soon not only ice skaters, but people on foot were gathering around and the quickly improvised party turned into a mini winter festival. Loveland on Ice was one for the books!
2013
Music for everybody
After years of collaborating with various charity organizations, Loveland set up its own foundation called ‘Music for Everybody’ in 2013. Its aim was simple: making music available for everyone, including those who cannot afford expensive equipment.
Contrary to popular belief, when Loveland started in ‘95, the word ‘love’ in its name refers to the love and sharing of music and not for the romantic feeling. With the foundation trying to get everybody to enjoy music, its ambition only expands on Loveland's core principles.
The team of Loveland and sponsor Pioneer hit the road with a special Music for Everybody truck and parked on the main squares of The Netherlands’ biggest cities. Curious people could either donate their old musical equipment or money. A charity ticket was given for every working device to encourage the donation of equipment. This ticket offered a chance to win the newest Pioneer headphones and access to Loveland Festival after a Music for Everybody donation of at least 10 Euro.
Following the tour, all the donated musical equipment was given away at shelters and put to good use by people who normally could not afford them.
2014
Diynamic Festival
If you like your house and techno soulful and melodic, you should be familiar with the name ‘Diynamic’. It of course refers to Solomun's label Diynamic, based in Hamburg, Germany, going strong since 2006. With a roster that’s filled to the brim with veterans and talent, it would only make sense for Diynamic to have its own festival and with Loveland as partner, the two joined forces in 2014 and haven’t stopped since.
The Amsterdamse Bos was chosen as the perfect backdrop for sun-soaked and inviting beats with the first two editions held at ‘De Kleine Speelweide’ and from 2016 onwards just a stone’s throw further away at Land van Bosse. With an increased area at its disposal, Diynamic Festival expanded to three areas, offering an even wider palate of electronic music and ample opportunities to check out live-sets.
2014
Loveland weekender
We’ve all been there: the end of a festival when nobody wants to go home yet, but the gates are closing, and you just have to… Well, not at the Loveland Weekender!
The concept of this festival surpassed all expectations with non-stop shows at a holiday village hidden in the South of The Netherlands. Providing the perfect place to combine a weekend getaway with three days of partying, the holiday village is in a beautiful green area where visitors were accommodated in comfortable bungalows and luxurious villas.
There was always something to do from the moment people arrived until they left: parties in the pool, tournaments on the sports fields, open-air festivals, barbecues, picnics and pedal boat cruises. That didn't mean Loveland could just lean back and skimp on the line-up; nothing but the best DJ's were performing at the Loveland Weekender.
The Loveland Weekender was an unforgettable experience, which unfortunately only had two editions. Holiday parks changed their policies in 2016 which made it impossible for the event to happen again.
2014
New Location Mediahaven
Over the years, more and more artists and music industry relations wanted to do their Amsterdam Dance Event showcase in collaboration with Loveland. To help these initiatives blossom, the company took over a new location in Amsterdam: the impressive Mediahaven.
Originally a home for TV and media productions, the building is a unique three-room spot, where the areas vary from a 12-meter-high ceiling with state-of-the-art sound system to a small basement with a grungier feel to it.
And best of all: it has amazing acoustics and no sound restrictions whatsoever.
Mediahaven was first taken over by the Diynamic showcase in 2014 and later provided the place for many successful collaborations with various organizations in the dance scene like Circoloco, Cocoon, 909, Afterlife and Hyte.
Taking advantage of these first-class facilities, the location serves as a basis for Loveland ADE to this day.
2016
Loveland barcelona
For many festivals it is a testament to its popularity and a dream come true: organizing your event outside of your own country. For Loveland, that moment finally came in 2016. After all the rainy days in Amsterdam, what better place would suit a summer festival than sunny Barcelona?
Taking over the open-air marina Port Forum, the festival terrain is surrounded by palm trees and overlooks the sea. Building two stages on this wonderful spot, Loveland Barcelona was the perfect mixture of Mediterranean vibes and industrial architecture.
As always, visitors could dance to great sets by a strong lineup of artists who were provided by Adam Beyer’s Drumcode Records and Loveland’s NYE event Loveland Live.
Even though the festival was a success, it was never held again because the Dutch perfectionist event producing style didn't quite fit with the take-it-easy attitude of the Spanish suppliers.
2017
Music On Festival
A sure-fire highlight if you ever find yourself on Ibiza: Marco Carola’s Music On nights at the legendary Pacha club. With Music On always increasing in popularity, Carola - as a leading name in techno - flies all over the world with his brand. While Music On is a famous club night name worldwide, there is only one Music On Festival and it takes place in Amsterdam once a year. It’s with the help of Loveland that the Italian dj can bring his signature, layered sound to one of its largest crowd yet, debuting at Meerpark Amsterdam in 2017. Music On Festival celebrates techno in its many forms and as a testament of its popularity expanded to a two-day event in 2018, trading in Meerpark for Havenpark. The festival is lauded for a keen selection of both national and international dj’s and was able to expand in multiple ways in 2023, offering not just one, but two afterparties at Hemkade on both days.
2018
Loveland festival weekend
After years of successful Loveland Festival editions, in 2018 a long-time dream became reality: adding a second day to the event.
The new Sunday program was built around intimacy and the love for music, harking back to the origins of Loveland.
Traditionally Day 1 features six stages, each representing different niches from the spectrum of electronic music. In contrast to this, Day 2 cut down on the number of stages, creating a more exclusive vibe, while the impeccable quality of the lineup remained.
To allow the audience to connect to the artists and music they really like, Sunday’s access was only for those who also attended the first day. This perfect formula created an intimate event for the Lovelanders who want the full Loveland Festival experience.
2019
New location Warehouse houthavens
For its 15th edition at Amsterdam Dance Event, Loveland did not only have one, but two shows.
To make this happen, the company’s ADE Special took over a new location with a new concept: all-nighter shows in the Warehouse Houthavens. The building, usually serving as the storage facility for Theatre Amsterdam, gives the perfect industrial backdrop for solo artist showcases.
Anybody who is slightly familiar with electronic music knows that artists who can play all night long take the audience on an extraordinary musical journey like no other. In 2018, this concept was put to test by Âme & Dixon, Richie Hawtin and Solomun.
Following three very successful nights, the Warehouse Houthavens passed the test with flying colors and was permanently added as a home base for Loveland ADE.
2020
Worldwide Pandemic
2020: the year when all our lives changed, and we got used to a new normal that was unimaginable before. The COVID-19 pandemic caused hard times and difficulties for everyone around the world.
In the first months of the year the team of Loveland was preparing for a festival season that was supposed to be one for the books. The 25th anniversary edition of Loveland van Oranje, Loveland Festival, 909 Festival; they were all bound to have more visitors than ever before.
Then on Friday, March 13th, things turned upside down and inside out. Lockdowns, social distancing, quarantines and government press conferences became part of our everyday lives. The thought of social gatherings and big crowds seemed impossible.
Months passed by and many organizations in the cultural field announced to close their doors due to financial problems and lack of activities.
In times like this, music was the only cure for heartbreak. To do what Loveland does best - connect people through music - the company organized three livestreams.
To celebrate Kingsday, the Rooftop Session was broadcast from a terrace overlooking Nieuwmarkt, Loveland van Oranje’s original location. In May the Forest Session was transmitted from the Amsterdam Forest’s radar tower at 909 Festival’s terrain.
Then to top it all, on August 8th the Lake Session was streamed from the Sloterplas lake which normally serves as Loveland Festival’s backdrop.
These livestreams kept faith in both the team of Loveland and the Lovelanders that one day we will dance together again.