All About Awakenings Festival

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Open air

XXL – 50k+

Electronic

$$$

International

+3 Days

Awakenings is one of the largest outdoor techno festival in the world, drawing more than 80,000 music fans during its event days.

While the first one is a two-day event held in a forested area in Spaarnwoude – a village in Amsterdam’s northwest, its summeresque version changes its location frequently. 

Although the three-day fest used the same site until 2019, it now found its home on the vast and spacious grounds in Hilvarenbeek, a town in the south of the Netherlands. 

Awakenings hosts some of the biggest names in the electronic music scene, featuring over 100 acts across its several stages. It draws tens of thousands of techno ravers from not just Europe, but from all around the world.

Here’s everything you need to know about Awakenings Summer Festival.

Awakenings Summer Festival is a hub for techno lovers 

Showcasing 131 international acts from the electronic realm and everything it encapsulates, Awakenings is a big gun in Europe’s techno music calendar. 

Since its never-ending commitment to bringing the best electronic sounds spans over two decades, the festival is in a league of its own, becoming one of Europe’s largest outdoor techno fest.

The festival is no stranger to hosting some of the most roaring names in the electronic realm, such as Adam Beyer, Nina Kraviz, and Len Faki.

Awakenings has many techno events throughout the year

What made Awakenings a one-of-a-kind festival was its innovative idea of holding techno parties throughout the year. Acting as warm-up sessions, those beat-fueled events create social media buzz and prepare the grounds for the main festival.  

The series kicks off with Awakenings Klokgebouw in the icy January to warm up revelers’ spirits. The string of parties continues with Awakenings Easter Festival in April by brining some of the most lusted-after electronic names.

Last but not least, Awakenings Summer festival takes place in July and ultimately culminates with Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in October.

Awakenings features some jaw-dropping stages

One of the Awakenings’ highlights is its stunning stages. With the variety of indoor and outdoor spaces, the festival ensures ravers’ eyes will be glued to the visual spectacle.

Featuring an impressive amount of eight stages, this electronic festival seems to have a soft spot for awe-inspiring and mind-blowing visuals. When it comes to stage production, each showcases off-the-wall light shows that will sweep you off your feet.

Awakenings celebrated its 25th anniversary

Giving techno aficionados a shelter under Amsterdam’s skies for over two decades, Awakenings celebrated its quarter-century anniversary in 2022. Naturally, the techno republic will set all guns ablaze to make its milestone celebration memorable. 

As part of the grand festivities, Awakenings took the first step – changing its location from Spaarnwoude, its former home, to the new and bigger site of Hilvarenbeek.

The festival also added an extra day to its schedule, making sure that ravers will tell their grandchildren about Awakenings’ 25th anniversary.

Awakenings Festival is a mammoth event

By now you must have figured out that Awakenings is a mega festival. With crowd turnouts to the tune of over 80,000, the event can feel a bit overwhelming.

Since the location is uber-generous in space, stages are quite far from each other – you don’t want to trek seven football pitches to catch Nina Kraviz’s closing, right?

A festival pro tip is to check the lineup and make note of which artists you’d like to see live. Navigating the massive crowds can be nerve-wracking and physically exhausting, so stick to the stages you’d like to hang around. 

Be Awakenings-ready with the festival’s merch

Want to make a festival fashion statement without having to scroll through thousands of online shopping pages?

Get hold of some seriously sleek Awakenings merchandise, which looks swell with the iconic A letter printed on every item. From hoodies and shorts to tote bags and hats, you can purchase them from the festival’s website and be fashion ready.

Awakenings prides itself as an environmentally conscious event

Being an immense festival, there is a huge environmental responsibility on Awakenings – and the festival doesn’t disappoint on that note.

All cups, cans, and bottles used at the festival go to the recycling heaven, while festival-goers can return all empty bottles at the bar in return for a recycle token.

All the waste generated at the festival is segregated into categories: paper, glass, organic, plastic, and wood.

In 2022, the festival kissed carbon footprint goodbye and used the power of biofuels obtained from horticulture. Awakenings is pretty much the festival version of an environmental activist.

Awakenings Festival keeps you engaged beyond the music

With the bullet-hard techno music constantly blasting the fest’s speakers, sometimes a proper time-out will feel like a breath of fresh air.

Don’t worry about that – Awakenings has you covered. By tapping into the off-time concept, the techno event created a vast range of relaxing spots for its festival-goers. 

Located amid lush greenery, ample spaces for revelers to enjoy some quiet time while cooling off are the go-to spots for some downtime. 

When you’re done lazing around, the unmissable skydiver will take you for a fun spin and jaw-dropping views of the festival’s grounds.

If you’re a techno-head, you can either attend the techno republic Awakenings or die in shame.