Amsterdam is still preparing for its 2020 ADE event

Last week, Amsterdam's music industry was dealt a huge blow when Dutch Health Minister Hugo Mattheüs de Jong said that massive events will “only possible once there is a vaccine” for COVID-19. While that sounds like a no go for dance music festivals in the Netherlands, ADE may still happen this year, just with some expected and unexpected differences, of course.

“The Amsterdam Dance Event will look different this year than usual,” said a spokesperson. “How exactly, we can’t say that yet. So much is changing so fast right now.”

Currently, the event stands in the category of "massive events with a national appearance” as it attracts around 400,000 visitors from 146 different countries. These types of events are officially banned, but that ban only extends to September 1.

The annual electronic music conference and festival is slated for October 21 - 25, and organisers are still gearing up and preparing for the event. But if the minister’s statement holds true and with a vaccine months or years away still, that would mean that even the 2021 edition is up in the air.

Last year, Asia made an impactful presence at the Netherlands conference, with artists, entrepreneurs, labels and management all making an appearance under bridging concept titled ‘Asian Invasion’. There were at least two dozen speakers that included the likes of Eric Pang, Director of EDC China and Iqbal Ameer, Owner of Livescape Group (the company behind IT'S THE SHIP), as well as after parties that included Taiwan’s RayRay, Singapore’s Rave Republic and South Korea’s DJ Soda on bill.

[via Your EDM]