Tropikali Festival announces return to Amsterdam for sixth time

Amsterdam’s Tropikali Festival has announced its return this year to NDSM wharf, this time expanding from a one-dayer to a full weekend across June 22 and 23.

The queer-owned and produced festival promises its visitors – of which 5000 are expected per day across the site of repurposed shipyards and warehouses – a musical journey “from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro, with a layover in Beirut”.

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Over the two days, the festival’s four stages are set to showcase different musical cultures to celebrate diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community. The Rosario stage is set to focus on music inspired by Latin America, welcoming names including ketia, Nala Brown and Populous whilst the Latinichta stage welcomes DJs including Ben Santana and Maura V to embrace beats of Latin and reggaeton from South America and the Caribbean.

On the Sunday, uptempo Balkan rhythms and Middle Eastern sounds are embraced on the Kalinichta stage, headlined by KasbaH, whilst the newly-added Secreto Stage meanders through house and techno, showcasing emerging names from queer underground club music, including Cashu and Slim Soledad. This’ll include a stage takeover by The Planet, an Amsterdam-based FLINTA* club night featuring artists including DIORA, Slimfit, Adriana Lucid and Sukubratz.

It doesn’t stop at music, either, as Tropikali welcomes a range of performances. Think theatre dancers, drag queens, oriental belly dancing, rope art and beyond.

Tropikali emerged in 2018, as Amsterdam queer parties Rosario and Kalinichta – focusing on Latin and electronic music and Balkan and Middle Eastern music respectively – came together. Its co-founders, partners Diederik Broekhuizen and Nicola Rinaldi, connected with local LGBTQIA+ communities upon their travels in these regions and having returned to Amsterdam, launched their parties. As a result, Tropikali was launched with the intention to platform Amsterdam’s electronic music scene to those genres and the city’s international queer community.

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Tickets for Tropikali festival are available now here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag’s Weekend Editor, follow her on Instagram