How Milkshake got started
Peter van Vught and Marieke Samallo started Milkshake in 2012 as a collaboration between Paradiso and AIR. The starting point was practical: to bring the atmosphere and audience of the nightclub outside, during the day, in the Westerpark. No dress code in the traditional sense, but just the opposite - an emphasis on dressing up, being visible and taking up space.
The organization gives platforms to artists and performers who belong to or work for underrepresented communities. The genres you'll hear run the gamut from house, disco and techno to R&B, dancehall and experimental electronic music. This is not a random combination but a substantive choice: Milkshake programs broadly because its audience is broad.
Nine stages, more than a thousand performers
There are nine stages set up each day, each with its own atmosphere, decor and sound color, provided by local and international event organizers. In addition to the music, more than a thousand performers are active each day - drag acts, voguing catwalks, shows on smaller stages and performances that pop up among the audience. Westweelde provides three of the areas on the festival grounds.
Milkshake has sold out every year, indicating that the combination of formats works: people come for the music, but stay for the whole picture.
The lineup for 2026 is still being rolled out. Kilopatrah Jones is the first confirmed for the dance floor. Previous editions have had such names as Honey Dijon, The Black Madonna and Erol Alkan on the program.
2026: Milkshake and WorldPride
In 2026, Amsterdam will host both EuroPride and WorldPride, and Milkshake falls on July 25 and 26 right at the beginning of that period. This is no coincidence: Milkshake traditionally marks the start of Pride Week in the city. This year, that has extra weight - Amsterdam is expecting visitors from around the world in the summer of 2026 for the largest LGBTQ+ event Europe is hosting this decade.
For those who have been going to Milkshake for years, little changes in terms of content. The same festival grounds in Westerpark, the same setup with multiple simultaneous stages, the same idea that dress, sexuality and status are separate from access to the dance floor. What changes is the context: in the summer of 2026, Amsterdam is doing it on a scale the city hasn't seen in a decade.