Paradiso Amsterdam

Paradiso Amsterdam began operating in Amsterdam in a church on Weteringschans, opening in 1968 as the Cosmic Relaxation Center Paradiso. Its founders were Koos Zwart, Willem de Ridder and Ruud Tegelaar. DJs started playing for late-night dancing there in 1982, and the building later served as a concert venue, nightclub and cultural centre. Paradiso Amsterdam has held events at Paradiso, Paradiso Noord / Tolhuistuin and Parallel. In 2021, its venue spaces included a main hall with capacity for 1,500, an upstairs hall for 250, a cellar for 150 and Paradiso Noord for 550.

Concerts, festivals and club nights sit alongside programming in literature, politics, science, visual art and dance. Paradiso runs more than 1,000 programs each year across Amsterdam and hosts over 600,000 people annually. Event line-ups have included Goldie, Boston Bun and Jersey. VIP Club, its first weekly club night, began in 1994 with local DJs and visiting artists including Laurent Garnier and Jeff Mills. Bassline, a night centred on hip-hop, R&B and related styles, started in 1997. Paradiso R&D supports organizers of concert series, club nights and cultural events in pop and nightlife. Paradiso coordinated Re-Imagine Europe, initiated by Sonic Acts as a partnership among 14 cultural organizations across Europe.