Audio Obscura announces official 2026 Festival at UNESCO World Heritage site
Pioneering, boundary-breaking electronic events producer Audio Obscura announces the return of its flagship Audio Obscura Festival at the UNESCO World Heritage site Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam. Following its completely sold-out first edition in 2024 the one-off, open-air showcase returns in 2026, marking the next chapter in Audio Obscura’s development as a truly unique cultural platform.
AUDIO OBSCURA FESTIVAL 2026 TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE: https://audio-obscura.com/festival/
What began as club culture has evolved into an ongoing mission: to place electronic music in contexts traditionally closed to dance music, whether that be highway raves, cathedral house parties or elevated sunrise events. Organisers position Audio Obscura’s locations not as gimmicks, but as unexpected physical statements that give the genre the respect, protection, and cultural recognition it deserves.
So Audio Obscura Festival isn’t a traditional music festival but rather a temporary cultural intervention and installation in the heart of Rotterdam. For this edition, the program will include not only the former factory but the entire outdoor area of the Van Nelle Factory. Lofty halls, brutalist walkways and hidden industrial spaces together form a one-of-a-kind sensory route where sound, space, and architecture amplify each other – an experience that lasts for just one day and then disappears.
Rotterdam remains the original foundation of the Audio Obscura philosophy, the festival specifically designed for the city and its raw industrial heritage. Simultaneously it brings together international and local artists and audiences in a shared, communal experience, where DJs take center stage and blur the lines between concert, rave, and performance.
In keeping with Audio Obscura’s philosophy, impact extends beyond music. A portion of the proceeds from the 2026 Audio Obscura Festival will be donated to the preservation of the Van Nelle Factory as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
PHASE 1 LINE-UP
Chris Stussy
DJ Gigola b2b Chloé Caillet
DJ Heartstring
Eileen
Folamour
Honey Dijon
Jöella Jackson b2b Rayzir
Max Dean
Marsolo
Obskür b2b Luuk van Dijk
Olive F
Prospa
AAT
Phase 2 artist announcement coming soon…
INFORMATION
Event: Audio Obscura Festival 2026
Date: Saturday, August 29
Time: 12 pm – 11 pm
Location: Van Nelle Factory, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Tickets are available via: audio-obscura.com/festival/
ABOUT AUDIO OBSCURA
Audio Obscura is a pioneer in the electronic music scene, pushing boundaries by bringing cutting-edge music to unusual, breathtaking, and often inaccessible locations. The result: once-in-a-lifetime experiences that capture the power of togetherness. As a pioneer in electronic music, Audio Obscura has contributed to the cultural heritage of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, among others, with shows at iconic locations such as the Concertgebouw, the Van Nelle Factory, the Euromast, Amsterdam Centraal Station, the bicycle passage under the Rijksmuseum, at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam and most infamously, on the A10 ring road, where Audio Obscura quite literally bought the capital’s traffic to a stop as part of Amsterdam’s official 750 anniversary celebrations, the only electronic music event asked to take part in the once-in-a-lifetime event. By placing the DJ at the center and creating new contexts, Audio Obscura blurs the lines between club, concert, and art, opening up a dialogue between artists, spaces, and a global audience.
