Duncan Stutterheim, co-creator of Sensation in Amsterdam, had a holiday two years ago and decided it was time to bring his creation Down Under.

“I had a very good feeling about Melbourne and realised that, as a city, Melbourne really embraces things,” Stutterheim told MCV.

“I was also surprised at how big dance music is here.”

The first Sensation took place in Amsterdam in 2000, and staff decided to wear all white as a tribute to Stutterheim’s brother, and co-founder of ID&T, Miles, who had died in a car accident earlier that year.
Having read this on the internet, about half the crowd turned up wearing white of their own volition. The following year, 98 percent of people chose to wear white, so now party-goers are requested to wear all white.

“The tribute is a nice reason for the white,” Stutterheim says. “We’re not too hard on people in the first year: we can tell if people just forgot, and you can get a white T-shirt out the front. But we put a lot of effort into the show, and we can tell if people are taking the piss by wearing all red or whatever. If you turn up in black, you don’t get in.”

With a budget of $5 million for its first Australian iteration, Sensation is investing heavily in Melbourne, and embracing the house and trance event beyond 2009. “We’re here in Melbourne for the long-term – for the next five years at least, and maybe ten,” Stutterheim says. “And we won’t be touring to any other Australian cities.”

He describes the event as a show-oriented dance party for 40,000 revellers, with an impressive array of international DJs and a synchronised light, laser and pyrotechnic show.

Already 30,000 of the 40,000 tickets for the inaugural event have been snapped up. Stutterheim and many of his Dutch crew from ID&T are here to soak up the energy of the first Melbourne Sensation.
“The first time is really special and has fantastic energy,” he says. “I always try to be at the first one. But with 20 more across the world in 2009, including Russia, Chile and Brazil, it’s not always going to be possible.”

Billed as “a spectacle beyond belief”, Sensation also brings several world-class DJs to the Telstra Dome, including FAMOUS resident Ben Morris, Ministry of Sound resident Erick Morillo, Australian trailblazers Smilie and Course, Amsterdam electro and tech trance maestro Marco V, i, superstar and resident at Pacha Ibiza, Fedde Le Grande, and the youngest ever winner of Sony’s inthemix DJ poll, tyDI.

And, to fulfil its aim of being a fully sustainable event, Sensation has also engaged Treecreds as an ‘offset partner’ to assess its carbon footprint, offset its greenhouse emissions and reduce its environmental impact.

So it looks like this NYE you can be green and white both at the same time.

Sensation, NYE at Telstra Dome. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com.au and www.sensation.com

MCV has two double passes to Sensation NYE to giveaway. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it between 10am and 10.30am on Sunday, December 28, 2008. Make sure you put ‘MCV Sensation Giveaway’ in the subject line. Winners will be contacted by Sensation staff about where to pick up tickets.

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