When: Saturday, 2nd July, 2016
Where: Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Fact: EDM has achieved Dr. Evil levels of world domination. You listen to it, your neighbour listens to it, even your mum does in the car (probably to Avicii like mine).
Summer is finally here. It’s time to crank it up and party! With something popping off every night it’s hard to decide where to go, especially for that last minute f*ck it, just do it trip.
But fear not young Padawan, the Waffle team’s got your back. We’ve partied around the world and are your one stop shop for what’s hot in music events right now. Here’s 6 reasons why you should go to Sensation THIS weekend and why missing it should be punished with an 8-hour mix of Miley Cyrus!
1. Always sold out.
Sensation has gathered global notoriety on the DJ scene. Since 2000, Sensation has rocked Amsterdam, the capital of legal drugs and East-European hookers. As of today, they’ve been everywhere that’s not inhibited by penguins.
40,000 people. 1 night. 1 love.
This year’s Angels and Demons party is heating up to be quite a number. Tickets are selling. Fast. I was lucky enough to score a resell ticket last year for a small mark-up, but if you’re quick, you might still be able to get it direct from Sensation like I did for this year.
2. They know what’s up
Sensation White focused solely on Trance back in the day of Darude and ‘Sandstorm’, while Sensation Black featured DJs playing Hardstyle and Hardcore. As House music become more mainstream Sensation White embraced it. This upset a few diehard fans (like me initially), but overall helped the event to attract a wider audience. By contrast, Sensation Black was not so flexible and it disappeared into the night.
3. A crisp white shirt makes all men desirable
Sensation White has always had a strict dress code. You’ve gotta wear white. Pretty obvious if you’ve ever heard of the event. This longstanding tradition began as a tribute to the event’s founder. Ever since it has become an iconic part of Sensation events, also because it looks phenomenal on the crowd.
Here’s something I learnt the hard way: stick to neat spirits when you drink. Otherwise, you could end up with a multi coloured shirt (guilty as charged).
4. A tight black dress is irresistible on the ladies
This year Sensation welcomes a new experience with its theme ‘Angels & Demons’. You can be in white or in black (not white AND black, you’re not a panda). What colour you get is a bit like Russian roulette, it reminds me of when I took an especially friendly lady up to my hotel room in Bangkok — luckily there are only positive surprises at Sensation. You’ll want to buy tickets with your friends or you might end up getting assigned different colours and being put at the other end of the arena. Awkward turtle. Roll the dice if you dare, unless you’re comfortable hunting solo.
Be careful, if you don’t dress in your assigned colour, you will be denied entry at the door! The instructions are very clear on this: black is black, white is white (e.g. grey is not black, pale blue is not white). Your shoes can be a different colour, but your accessories cannot. A print on your shirt is cannot cover more than 20% of it. Expect that these rules will be taken seriously!
5. The headliners will blow your head-off. Literally.
Nicky Romero. David Guetta. Don Diablo. Need I say more? These legends of the dance floor are guaranteed to deliver you a night you’ll never forget. I remember seeing these guys at Tomorrowland last year. They always bring a great crowd and a bunch of smash hits (although admittedly one of them loves to sometimes play sets from his USB stick). I expect no less from them at Sensation. Check out our complete guide to the DJs of the night (HA, rhyme!) here.
6. Be the fan who knows everyone and everything
Chat with everyone at Sensation whilst you pulse to the beat of Shotgun (yes, Yellow Claw will be playing as well). Get involved with the crowd by pressing here.
How to get to Sensation, tickets & accommodation
The party is held at the Amsterdam ArenA, on the south-east side of the city, approx 10km from the centre.
By train: Biljmer ArenA is the name of the station, trains run frequently, and it takes 15 minutes from the Central Station to get there.
By metro: takes slightly longer, but goes to the same place, Biljmer ArenA. Or, if you wish to get off at the north-side of the stadium, choose the stop ‘Strandvliet/ArenA’. Metro 54 is the one that comes from downtown through the Central Station, while Metro 50 is from the southern and western parts of the city.
By car: come on A2 motorway, choose Exit 1, turn east towards Amsterdam Zuidoost / Duivendrecht, and just follow directions from there until the car park.
Tickets & Accommodation
General admission tickets cost €84.50, while the most expensive tickets are already sold out, signalling the popularity of the night. If you wish to treat yo’ self, there are still Deluxe tickets available, which offer entry through a dedicated ‘Deluxe entrance’ and access to ‘Deluxe decks’ and ‘Deluxe DJ performances’. De lux don’t come cheap though, they cost €177.25 or €285, depending on whether you want to fill your stomach with a four-course dinner before starting to jump around in the light of laser beams for 6 hours straight. Energy-wise: YES, dancing-comfort-wise: NO.
If you don’t have a dutch friend from uni whose sofa you could crash on, Airbnb is always a good solution. OR, the official site also offers deals which include both the accommodation in Amsterdam and the ticket to the event. There is only a very limited selection of hotels on offer left to choose from, the rest are all sold out. They aren’t the cheapest out there, but certainly comfortable, and the easiest way to get it all sorted in one go.
In the meantime we’ve kicked a post together to help you recover the day after ;) Cure your hangover in Dam here.
