As temperatures soared in early June, Silent Disco King set off on the annual pilgrimage to the world's longest running festival.
Pinkpop is not only a great festival to visit, but also a source of inspiration for festivals worldwide. It seamlessly blends an unparalleled international lineup that can rival any major music festival, while still maintaining a strong local essence.
Headliners this year included Robbie Williams, P!nk and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and our 60-person strong Silent Disco crew included familiar local faces, some of who have been part of the festival for 30+ years.
Our Silent Disco doors opened at 5pm on Thursday, and within minutes the queue stretched right across the campsite. No one had to wait long, as our friendly team got everyone geared up with headphones, and singing and dancing in record time.
The fully enclosed venue would give any nightclub in the world a run for its money with three separate stages hosting DJs playing Rock, Pop and Dance.
The transformation is truly mind-blowing when you witness the lighting stretching from floor to ceiling and from front to back. It's hard to believe that just hours earlier, the same space was a simple grassy field.
Image credits: Halsoverkop
Spirits were high after an amazing first night party - which is just as well, because the SDK crew only had a few hours to finish the first event at 2am, and get ready to open the next elsewhere on site 11 hours later.
Across the weekend, we hosted 30 hours of headphone hedonism at our dedicated venue.
The ‘De Stille Jan’ Silent Disco Area, launched in 2022, and proved phenomenally popular. Word obviously spread as we hit capacity within 20 minutes of opening, and stayed full throughout the weekend.
A packed schedule of DJs covering all genres, as well as daily performance from folk band TräckSäck & Vrienden (with the best accordion party hits), attracted music fans of all ages, newspaper headlines and even prime time TV coverage, topped off with a marriage proposal - the Silent Disco was crammed full of ecstatic party action.
As the sun set on Pinkpop 2023, we were sad to leave the amazing vibe at ‘De Stille Jan’, but excited to see our friends in Landgraaf again next year.