The cancellation of Music On Festival 2026 has shaken us to our core. The past few days have been emotionally and operationally intense for everyone involved. This goes for our visitors, our artists, crew and partners, and for us as an organization. We understand the disappointment, disbelief, and confusion that so many of you are feeling. We hear you and we feel the same way.
We owe you a clear and honest account of what happened. But first we would like to address everyone who purchased a ticket to Music On Festival 2026.
We understand you have a lot of questions and want to assure you that our highest priority is taking care of all ticket holders in the best possible way.
Here’s what we can commit to today. All valid tickets for Music On Festival 2026 will remain valid for the next edition of Music On Festival in Amsterdam. However, if you prefer a ticket refund, that option will be available as well. We are currently building the system to handle this as smoothly and carefully as possible, and we will communicate all details clearly to all ticket holders next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
So, what went down in the run up to the festival that led to the cancellation.
Permit applications for events of this scale operate through a phased, iterative process. Organisers submit a permit application, after which adjustments can be made and submitted through established procedures. This is standard practice in the Dutch events industry.
During the permit process for Music On Festival 2026, we made the decision to use a different tent structure than the one originally specified in our application. We made this choice because we believed it would better suit the atmosphere and concept of the festival.
The tent in question is a standard rental structure used at major events across the country including events during the Amsterdam 750 celebrations, a fact acknowledged by the municipality, and at a large King’s Day festival in The Hague on 27 April 2026. The tent has been approved and safely used on multiple occasions across the Netherlands. It is furthermore scheduled for use at several other upcoming events.
On 17 March 2026, we formally notified the municipality of the change, as required by procedure. On 25 March, the municipality requested additional documents, which we supplied the same day. We received no substantive response indicating that any objections existed to the use of this tent. Despite multiple follow-up communications from our side, no concerns were raised.
The week of the festival
On Wednesday May 6th, just days before the festival, the municipality asked us to meet that same day to discuss the tent structure. In that constructive meeting, which included various representatives of the Environmental Agency (Omgevingsdienst) and the municipality, additional safety measures were agreed upon. Every requirement put forward was met by us, fully and promptly. There was no indication whatsoever that the future of the festival was at risk.
On Friday 8 May, one day before the festival, the municipality visited the site for an official inspection. This is a standard procedure for events of this scale. During that visit, city representatives confirmed on multiple occasions that the additional safety measures had been implemented as agreed. Based on those conversations, it was stated that the festival could take place safely and responsibly.
What happened overnight
In the night leading into Saturday, everything changed.
Our team worked through the night to meet every requirement asked of us. We submitted updated documents, explanations, and a revised management plan — all before midnight. At the same time, we have since learned, the Mayor was consulting with multiple agencies through the night.
At 4:00 AM, the Mayor raised additional questions and requested further advice before 8:00 AM. After a night of intensive work by all parties involved, the municipality’s own events bureau issued a positive advisory at 8:29 AM, recommending that the festival proceed. That advisory was issued in part on the basis of the Environmental Agency’s own assessment that, given the specific circumstances, the additional measures taken, and the favourable weather forecast, the risks were considered manageable.
Despite this, at 9:25 AM on Saturday, less than an hour after that positive advisory, a decision was made to revoke our permit.
That moment broke us. Not only because of the enormous impact on our visitors, artists, suppliers, and staff, but because until the very last moment, we had been given every reason to believe that the festival would go ahead.
The court proceedings
Convinced that we had met every condition placed upon us, we immediately filed an emergency injunction to allow the festival to proceed. The court ruled that the Mayor has discretionary authority in matters of public safety and that the Mayor was entitled to rely on the Environmental Agency’s negative advisory as a basis for doubting the safety of the tent. It is important to note that the court did not itself assess whether the tent was safe or unsafe. Nor did it consider whether the advisory process and the decision-making that led to the permit revocation were conducted with due care.
We respect that ruling. But we do not accept that this is how things should work.
A system that failed everyone
When an organiser spends months in dialogue with authorities, formally notifies every change, implements every additional measure requested, receives confirmation the day before that everything is in order, and is then told hours before opening that the event cannot go ahead, something is fundamentally broken in the system.
It is incomprehensible to us that a tent structure was suddenly deemed as a risk by the environmental authority on Friday night, based on information that had been available to them all along, while they had already known since March 17th that we intended to use this structure.
Had the municipality or environmental authority indicated at any earlier stage that the use of this tent was considered undesirable, we would easily have been able to implement an alternative solution. Even if this had only been communicated a few days earlier, the situation could still have been resolved in time.
This is not just our loss. It is the loss of thousands of visitors, hundreds of crew members, artists, and suppliers who worked tirelessly to make this festival happen. And ultimately, it is a situation no one wanted. Not us, and we believe not the municipality either.
We are calling for a serious conversation with the municipality, the mayor, and the Environmental Agency to carefully evaluate what went wrong, where responsibilities were unclear, and how communication and decision-making processes can be improved, so that this can never happen again.
Who we are, and what this festival means to us
Loveland has been organising festivals and events in and around Amsterdam for over 30 years. Music On Festival has been part of that family since 2017. Every edition has sold out months in advance. The safety of our visitors, crew and all else involved always has been our highest priority. Every edition has taken place without incident. We have built our reputation, and our relationship with the city, on decades of responsible, professional event production.
