THIS WAS: DEFQON.1 WEEKEND FESTIVAL

The 20th edition of Defqon.1 Weekend Festival, the world’s largest harder styles festival, took place from June 27-30, 2024, in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. This year’s event was larger than ever attracting 250,000 visitors from over 100 countries and featuring more than 500 artists across four action-packed days.

Defqon.1 Weekend Festival has solidified its position as not only the biggest harder styles festival globally, but also the largest dance festival in the Netherlands. With four spectacular endshow experiences and a diverse lineup spanning 360 degrees of the harder styles, the completely sold-out event once again proved why it’s a must-attend for harder styles enthusiasts.

Getting There

Our journey began with a drive from Den Haag to a villa in Ermelo, about an hour and 45 minutes’ drive and then from the villa to the festival grounds, another 25 minutes. While camping has its charms, years of experience (and a few battle scars) led us to choose a more comfortable accommodation option. As this was my fourth Defqon.1, I was prepared for the long walk over the bridge (if you know you know) but was very interested to see how the festival evolved since my last time here in 2018.

Getting to and from the festival each day by car was relatively straightforward, with one minor hiccup on Thursday when we accidentally found ourselves at the Walibi amusement park entrance.

The walk from the parking lot to the campsite entrance took about 15 minutes depending on where you park. A cool feature this year was that the parking lot was organized by numbered rows (so if you or one of your friends remembered the row number you could find your car!). I can’t tell you how much of my life was wasted over the years forgetting where we parked. 

As rave veterans, we planned our arrival and departure times strategically to beat the crowds. Each day, we arrived early around 11:30 AM and left around 2:30 AM, ensuring we avoided the worst of the traffic while still enjoying full days of music and entertainment.

Venue

Defqon.1 takes place at the Evenementen Terrein Het Maaiveld in Biddinghuizen, located in the Flevoland region of the Netherlands. This expansive venue is known for hosting numerous large-scale events throughout the year.

Despite its size, the layout is generally well-organized although really dusty, so don’t wear white shoes!

Food & Drinks

Defqon.1 offered a wide variety of food options to keep attendees fueled throughout the long festival days. From international cuisine like tacos, Korean and Thai food, to more familiar festival fare such as Turkish pizza, chicken gyros, and empanadas, there was something for everyone (including vegan options)! Of course, no Dutch festival would be complete without fries – the late-night fries with mayonnaise at the campsite were a particular highlight for me, so salty and crispy!

As most Dutch festivals, Defqon.1 operated on a token system for food and drink purchases. Tokens could be bought in bundles:

– 5 tokens for €20 (1 token ≈ €4 or $4.29 USD)

– 10 tokens for €40

– 15 tokens for €60

– 20 tokens for €80

– 25 tokens for €100

Prices varied, with beer and soda costing one token, while hard seltzers were a bit more and cocktails were priced at three tokens. For an example of the food prices, a portion of three chicken satay sticks could be had for 2.5 tokens. Of course, this is a huge price jump from the last time I attended Defqon.1 in 2018 but now living in the post-pandemic world plus inflation and having attended many festivals of similar size recently, the prices didn’t shock me.

Stages

Defqon.1 is renowned for its impressive array of stages, each dedicated to a different sub-genre of harder styles music.

RED Stage

The iconic RED stage is the center point of Defqon.1. This colossal structure takes nearly a year to design and three weeks to build. Featuring over 300 speakers, 1,472 light fixtures, and enough confetti to fill 192 waste containers, the RED stage is a sensory overload in the best possible way.

This year’s design paid homage to Defqon.1’s legacy, showcasing five ‘Defqon.1 Gods’ on thrones, each representing a past stage design. From the Samurai (2023) to the King of Scrap (2011), these figures embodied the festival’s rich history and mythology.

GOLD Stage

The GOLD stage is a nostalgic journey through hardcore music’s golden era. Here, gabbers, ravers, and diehards unite to celebrate the roots of rave culture. This stage hosted legends such as Rob GEE, Panic & the Viper, and Charly Lownoise.

YELLOW Stage

For those who like their beats fast (I mean really fast), the YELLOW stage is the place to be. Hosting Uptempo, Frenchcore, and Terror genres, this is where the BPM never drops below 200. Since my first edition of Defqon.1 in 2015, this stage has always held a special place in my heart. It had the best vibes in my opinion and the best music.

PURPLE Stage

The PURPLE stage is where future stars are born. Many of today’s headliners, including Headhunterz and D-Block & S-te-Fan, made their Defqon.1 debuts here. I got a great view of the stage from the Ferris Wheel on Sunday evening!

ORANGE Stage

On Friday, the PURPLE transforms into the ORANGE stage, delivering pounding Psytrance beats to eager crowds showcasing the diversity that Defqon has to offer.

GREEN Stage

A new addition for Fresh Friday, the GREEN stage brought Hard Techno to Defqon.1 for the second time. Hard Techno is one of the most popular subgenres of electronic music today and the intersectionality between Hard Dance (especially reverse bass and Hard Techno as we know it today) makes it no surprise that Hard Techno was represented at Defqon.1 this year.

UV Stage

One of the largest outdoor stages, the UV hosted The Gathering’s end show on Thursday and was a beacon of light (literally illuminated the sky throughout the weekend). The center point of the UV stage was a giant purple Defqon logo with crystals on each side of the stage. The UV stage hosted a variety of different genres of music such as Wasted Penguinz, Brennan Heart, Dr. Peacock, and Darren Styles to name a few.

BLACK Stage

The BLACK stage has always been the home of hardcore at Defqon.1. This year BLACK was harder (and sweatier) than ever with some of the most insane acts of the scene today like Lil Texas, Major Conspiracy, and Dimitri K.

BLUE Stage

The second-largest stage at Defqon.1, the BLUE stage is the place to be for Rawstyle. Not to be confused with the Black Stage (that’s a blue tent), the BLUE stage was a large hangar with next level production including 441 light fixtures. At some points this stage was so crowded it was very difficult to enter and exist (even for a pro like me).

MAGENTA Stage

Celebrating hardstyle classics all weekend long, the MAGENTA stage is a time machine for electronic music lovers. If reverse bass is for you, then this was the place to be. From legends like Zany, to Tatanka, to Donkey Rollers, MAGENTA was a trip back in time to the early days.

SILVER Stage

For those who prefer more the underground, the SILVER stage delivers heavy Industrial vibes. The best part about the SILVER Stage was the wrap around stairs and decks allowing for various vantage points and an arena vibe.

All Weekend Silent Disco

A unique feature at Defqon.1 was the availability of silent disco headphones. For a five-token deposit, attendees could tune into five different channels from various stages, allowing them to experience different parts of the festival no matter where they were standing.

Defqon.1 Theater

New to the festival was the Defqon.1 Theater, presenting “Ghost Stories | The Twilight Ceremony.” This cinematic show experience, created by Q-dance and D-Block & S-te-Fan’s live act ‘Ghost Stories,’ offered free admission to multiple shows throughout the festival.

The Monument:

At the heart of Defqon.1 stood The Monument, a striking structure made from four 40-foot containers topped with a massive Defqon.1 logo. Surrounded by seating areas, this became a central meeting point and relaxation zone for weary warriors.

Music

The Opening Ceremony

The opening of the RED stage is always a special moment for Weekend Warriors. Walking up to the RED stage for the first time is always breathtaking between the sheer amount of people and the level of production. Known for his hard-hitting tracks and high energy performances, Ran-D set the mood for the weekend.

POWER HOUR

Described as ‘the biggest organized chaos of the year,’ POWER HOUR is a Defqon.1 institution. This year’s edition featured the famous ‘left to right’ moment and a spectacular air show by the Red Bull Flying Bulls, who dominated the skies with historic Dornier Alpha jets.

Rob GEE

Rob GEE’s two sets on Saturday paid homage to the legends of early Gabber one on the BLACK stage with Marc Acardipane hosted by MC Alee and Tha Watcher and then later in the day a solo set hosted by MC Da Mouth of Madness and MC Da Syndrome taking the crowd on a nostalgic journey back to the ’90s. With classic bangers like ’98 to Piano, I like it Loud, and Ecstasy, You Got What I Need, these sets were the perfect homage to the legends to pave the path for the music we know and love today.

Outsiders and Freddy Moreira:

Sunday’s set by Outsiders and Freddy Moreira was a high-energy mix of classic ’90s tunes and contemporary hits, complete with dancers throwing panda bear stuffed animals into the crowd and an endless amount confetti cannons. Their set was a big mix of everything from classic 90’s music top hits of today like Ratata, to fun remixes like Tattoo and Take Me Away. 100% pure energy from start to finish.

The End Shows

Defqon.1‘s end shows are legendary, and this year was no exception. Each night concluded with a breathtaking display of fireworks and lasers, illuminating the sky and leaving the crowd in awe. The Sunday night Closing Ritual was particularly emotional, and included the iconic left right moment once again but now in the dark for the very first time ever providing a fitting end to an incredible weekend.

Final Impressions

Defqon.1 Weekend Festival 2024 was a testament to the festival’s continued growth and innovation. The addition of a fourth day (introduced in 2022) allowed for a more relaxed start to the festival experience. Beyond the music, Defqon.1 offered a plethora of activities, from the Warrior Workout to the new Orange Light District, ensuring there was never a dull moment.

The festival’s attention to detail was evident in every aspect, from the Sneaker Sanctuary to the Bitterballen Bingo hosted by Holland Casino. I have to say experiencing Bitterballen Bingo from the perspective of an American living in the Netherlands for eight years was so fun. Singing along to Dutch music, eating free bitterballen (deep fried balls of meat ragout) and watching breakdancers was so cool and unexpected. We even did the polonaise (Dutch version of a conga line) to exit the venue, it doesn’t get more Dutch than that!

Navigating the festival was made even more fun with unexpected stages, such as one by the bathroom on Friday and various art installations. The only downside about getting around, was at points the festival was so crowded (especially Blue Stage on Sunday for Sickmode and Krowdexx) that it was impossible to move. Also on Sunday, a few of the stages switched for example UV became Black, Black became UV and without using the Q Dance app (plus with the bad service the app did not always work), a lot of people missed out on sets or lost their friends. One tip for next year would be to have additional signage, cross post style signs that point in which directions the stages are and how many meters it is to walk there would be helpful especially when your phone dies or you don’t have service. It’s also extremely confusing that the BLACK Stage is in a BLUE tent! But taking into account how hot a black tent would become (even without the collective energy the hardcore enthusiasts create while dancing to the fast paced beats) one can only understand this decision.

Defqon.1 is more than just a festival; it’s a lifestyle. It’s a family. The sense of community among the ‘Weekend Warriors’ is palpable, with attendees showing their dedication through tattoos and even weddings on site. It’s this spirit of unity, brought together by a shared love of music, that makes Defqon.1 truly special.

As we left the festival grounds for the last time, tired but elated, one thing was clear: Defqon.1 remains the ultimate celebration of harder styles music, and an unforgettable experience for electronic music lovers from around the world.