Mysteryland has always been a bucket-list festival, but 2025 felt different. This was the last edition in its current form before a creative pause in 2026, and you could sense the weight of that announcement across the site. This year, 100,000 people from 81 countries made their way to Haarlemmermeer for one final dance together, determined to soak up every moment.
Music Highlights
With over 250 artists spread across more than 15 stages, the line-up delivered the full spectrum of electronic music. Big names like Hardwell, Eric Prydz, Fisher, and Paul van Dyk drew the crowds, while next-gen stars such as Benwal, Indira Paganotto, and Patrick Mason pushed things forward with fresh sounds.
For fans of the harder styles, the enclosed Hardstyle Elite stage was relentless, with Ran-D, Sound Rush, and Rebelion shaking the structure to its core. Elsewhere, techno lovers found themselves spoiled with Adriatique, DJ Tennis, and a rare b2b between Michel de Hey, Prunk, and Skream. Even the Dutch urban scene got its shine with Ronnie Flex and Broederliefde pulling in a different vibe.
I spent much of the afternoon drifting between stages, and what struck me was how easy it was to shift from one atmosphere to another. One moment deep in a hypnotic Shelter forest set, the next surrounded by pure euphoria at Vunzige Deuntjes under its colourful ceiling. Mysteryland is one of those festivals where a strict schedule almost feels pointless. You’ll end up exactly where you need to be.
The Pyramid Mainstage
This year, the Pyramid returned as the mainstage for the first time in over twenty years, and it completely redefined the heart of the festival. What struck me about this stage was how many different ways you could experience it. The DJ played from inside a dome at the front of the structure, facing the crowd and the hill that stretched up behind them. If you made your way right up to the dome, you weren’t just watching the set, you were looking out across the same view as the artist, with thousands of people dancing in front of you.
The staircases built into the stage gave even more perspectives. Climbing onto the different levels meant you could stop and take it all in from above, almost as if you were inside the structure itself. Every spot offered something different, and wherever you stood, you felt connected to what was happening. For a stage of this size, it was surprisingly personal, and that’s what made it so special.
Atmosphere & Crowd
The people at Mysteryland are a different breed. With visitors from 81 countries, it’s as international as it gets, yet it never loses that feeling of togetherness. Everywhere I turned, I found myself smiling at strangers and being pulled into little moments of joy.
One of my favourite moments came when I stumbled onto a dancefloor where a group had found a stick and turned it into a limbo line. To get in, you had to duck underneath it, cheered on by strangers who were clapping, laughing, and high-fiving each other. Moments like this reaffirm everything I love about festivals. They awaken our inner child, that playful side of ourselves we often lose in day-to-day life. And the best part is, we get to carry that feeling back into the real world long after the music fades. That’s the magic of Mysteryland.
Hidden Magic
One of the things I love most about Mysteryland is that you never really know what’s waiting behind each corner. This year was no different. From the karaoke phone booth hidden in a vintage telephone box, to the surreal installations at Radio Koperenhond (where you might find yourself “flashed” by a speed camera for dancing too hard), the site is full of playful surprises.
Walking through the trees to reach different stages adds to that sense of discovery. You don’t just move from one arena to the next; you wander, you explore, and sometimes you stumble into something completely unexpected. That feeling of getting lost only to find yourself again is part of the festival’s magic.
Stages like Club Godverdikkie, designed as a giant cuckoo clock that erupted in fire every hour, or Paardenrave, a wild west fever dream of hay bales and pounding beats, showed just how far Mysteryland will go to create new worlds. The attention to detail stretched everywhere, from the interactive Spirolizer kinetic LED piece to the Bubble Beacon’s mesmerising glow at night.
Almost all of the décor was made from recycled or reused materials, creatively repurposed from Mysteryland and other ID&T festivals. Combined with the fact that the entire event was powered almost entirely by locally generated green energy, it felt good to know that the festival’s creativity and sustainability went hand in hand.
Food, Camping & Extras
Around 10,000 people stayed at the campsite this year, which had been relocated to the lake. It was a lush retreat with beaches and a swimming area, plus activities like pool parties, bonfire sessions, arcade games, and wellness zones. Luxury camping offered saunas, jacuzzis, and even an open-air cinema showing Tom & Jerry late into the night.
On the food front, options like the Beergarden tastings with empanadas and the three-course fine dining pop-up by Ron Gastrobar were clear highlights. The Pizza Show also returned, combining Italian charm with theatrical dining for something completely different.
The End Show
The Sunday finale was a spectacle to behold. Eight hundred drones rose into the sky, forming shapes of love and connection while fireworks and lasers lit up the Pyramid on all sides. For a quarter of an hour, the whole crowd seemed to move and breathe together, completely absorbed in the spectacle.
What stayed with me most wasn’t just the scale of it all, but the words that closed the show: ‘Stay weird, stay kind, and keep that love frequency on high volume.’ Standing there among thousands of people, it felt less like a festival slogan and more like a reminder of how to live. Mysteryland has always been about more than just music, and this moment captured that perfectly.
Final Thoughts
Mysteryland 2025 felt like a celebration and a farewell rolled into one. From the sheer presence of the Pyramid stage to the absurd charm of the Paardenrave, from strangers limbo-dancing their way onto the floor to the drones sketching messages of love across the night sky, it was the closing of a very special chapter.
Leaving on Sunday night, I had the sense that we’d all shared something unique — a last dance in Mysteryland’s current form, before it pauses in 2026 and returns in 2027 with a new concept. Mysteryland signed off this chapter in the only way it knows how: with love, creativity and connection at its core.
