The evolution of the AMF stage design

Since 2013, Amsterdam Music Festival (AMF) has been one of the biggest highlights of Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). Always pulling in the top DJs every single year without fail, it has fast become one of the most in-demand events and a worldwide phenomenon, with people flying in from all corners of the globe to show up to the consistently sold-out indoor festival. This year, AMF is about to welcome in its biggest and boldest edition yet, with a lineup that has wowed every EDM fan and the ticket sales reflect that with the event selling out in record breaking time. As we all look forward to seeing what the fantastic event pulls off, we thought we would reflect how AMF has changed over the years through their impressive stage designs.

2013

The inaugural year saw the likes of Alesso, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell and many more take to the very first AMF stage. Hosted at the RAI venue where it would later be moved from, its very first stage design was extremely impressive for a first edition and proved that this event was something to be taken seriously. The iconic X branding was at the forefront of the stage with large, stretched out visual screens taking up the rest of the space. A sleek design, it was a true game changer for indoor stage design.

2014

Proving that AMF always wants to one up themselves every year, the 2014 stage was one of the fan favourites and went down a hit with the stunned crowd. Honing in on their ‘X’ brand even more, it featured four massive X shapes that loomed over the crowd. A stage that matched the enormous scale of the growing event, this one was truly iconic.

2015

They say ‘go big or go home’, and in 2015 AMF went bigger than ever before. With their logo reflected on both sides held by chain hoists, Curved video screens (which rotated) featured in the middle of the design, creating stunning backdrops for each world class DJ on the lineup. Nearly 400 Robe lighting fixtures (101 BMFL Spots, 94 Pointes, 180 LEDBeam 100s and 7 BMFL Blades to be exact) were used to pull this stage together and help to put on an extremely impressive show for the large crowd.

2016

For the 2016 stage, the main focal points were the four rings that looped around the length of the stage which curved at 270 degrees and also displayed visual screen strips on them. A beautiful piece of design, this bushed the boundaries of indoor stage design and made it a spectacle of its own. During that year, it started at 1pm and as a lot of it was in daylight, so to make sure that lights would be shown during the day a custom 55 metre by 22 metre matrix frame covered with pixels was created to give the whole design a pop in the daytime.

2017 

A jaw dropping sight to behold, 2017’s stage design explored the 3D aspect even more so. This time, the stage didn’t just point forward but rather downwards at the crowd almost looking over everyone. A bold design for an indoor event, AMF outdid themselves and every attendee was in awe of it. Popping out of place, the X’s shone the colourful lights onto the faces of the fans.

2018 

Last year, the design of the stage was switched up entirely to accommodate a brand-new feature: the Party Pit. The Party Pit allowed fans to get up on stage behind the DJ to experience the event from their perspective (and it makes a return for 2019). This meant that the X would move upwards but all three X’s were, of course, on full display taking the spot at the top of the stage to stand tall and proud.

Looking back at all of these designs, we can see that AMF not only delivers high-quality lineups but also high-quality stage designs and each year is always bigger than the last. As the 2019 edition approaches extremely quickly, we invite you to tell us what your favourite stage design is and why in the comments!