The Amsterdam Dance Event was preparing for its 30th edition, having grown from a 1996 networking conference for about 300 dance-industry professionals into an event with more than 1,200 programmes across more than 300 venues, about 3,500 artists and more than 600,000 visitors. Its early editions combined daytime meetings at De Balie with evening performances at venues including the Melkweg, Paradiso and Escape.