A video released today dropped on the official A State of Trance accounts seems to tease the theme of the upcoming 2026 celebrations
It seems incredible when you take a moment to reflect on the journey that Armin van Buuren and his team have taken and created since the beginning of this century: from a small Dutch radio project on ID&T to the longest-running, most engaging, and influential trance radio show in history: because A State Of Trance is exactly that.
We celebrated episode 1000 in 2021 by revisiting the history of the radioshow, a journey marked by unforgettable milestones, exceptional festivals around the world, legendary guests, and above all, a whole lot of trance and progressive music. However, 2021 was still in the midst of the pandemic, and the real celebrations only took place in February 2023, with the first two-day festival at Jaarbeurs Utrecht, after several postponements. That edition finally gave meaning to the anthem Armin van Buuren had released two years earlier, Turn The World Into The Dancefloor, and at the same time, introduced the new show format, titled REFLEXION: a new team, a new logo, but most importantly, a reflection on the changes within the global dance music scene, which increasingly refuses to be confined by genre boundaries.
This feeling was amplified even more in 2024 with the DESTINATION edition, which also marked the move to a new home (as Jaarbeurs Utrecht, after eight years, had permanently closed off essential areas needed to host the event in its entirety), and so, we experienced the atmosphere of Ahoy Rotterdam, which proved itself a worthy successor to Utrecht and Den Bosch (home to A State Of Trance 500, 550, and 600 events). The anthem of the event, also called DESTINATION – written by Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Ruben de Ronde, and Rank 1 – was voted Tune Of The Year 2023 by the listeners of A State Of Trance, a full year in advance.
This year’s edition fully embraced the essence of the show’s new format, open to all possible musical shades: TRANSFORMATION, an edition where the walls of Ahoy Rotterdam vibrated not only with trance music, but also techno and classic ’90s trance, offering a truly diverse show.
Next year, in 2026, A State Of Trance will cross the threshold of its first twenty-five years on air: May 18, 2001, marks the date of the very first episode – the so-called pilot episode 000 – two hours of uninterrupted music, followed by the first official episode, 001, on June 1, 2001, featuring the voice of Armin van Buuren.
If the 1000th episode celebrations already felt monumental – as Armin himself mentioned many times on the show, probably hinting at a massive global tour – something truly epic may be in the works for next year’s 25th-anniversary edition: a video released today leaves everyone holding their breath, inviting fans to stay tuned for Friday, September 5, for the first teasersm likely the announcement of the Dutch celebration dates:
In the meantime, pre-registration is now open for A State Of Trance Hotels and event tickets for the celebration weekend in Rotterdam: TICKETS ASOT 2026.