A statement on ownership

Dear friend of Milkshake, 

Please take the time to read this statement on the ownership of Milkshake Festival, as it explains our stance as an organization on the acquisition of our parent company, Superstruct Entertainment, by KKR. 

Milkshake Festival is an open-minded electronic dance festival for all who love. Since 2012, our festival takes place in the city center of Amsterdam, celebrating radical freedom, love and acceptance. Our intention is to create and give a platform to artists and performance artists that belong to (or support) underrepresented communities in our society. To us, life is a party thanks to the great diversity of skin colors, body shapes, sexual preferences and gender identities. Our core values are kindness, transparency, and accountability.

Timeline of ownership

2012: Milkshake is founded by AIR Events & Stichting Paradiso Amsterdam.

2015: AIR Events plus its majority stake in Milkshake is sold to ID&T, then part of SFX Entertainment.

2021: SFX, including ID&T and AIR Events (plus the majority stake in Milkshake) is sold to Superstruct Entertainment, which is backed by Providence Equity Partners.

2024: Paradiso sells its remaining stake in Milkshake Festival to Superstruct Entertainment, making Superstruct Entertainment 100% owner.

2024: Providence Equity Partners sells Superstruct to KKR. 

Throughout these changes, Milkshake Festival has consistently remained under the stewardship of the same dedicated team, with an unwavering commitment to its founding values. This team was in no way involved in the above ownership changes. 

However, we now find ourselves caught up in something that absolutely does not align with our values as an organization. In the past couple of months, we have learned a lot about KKR’s unethical investment practices. Especially, it’s investments in corporations that profit from the ongoing warfare in Gaza.

Several highly experienced institutions such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, have stated that the Israeli army is plausibly committing war crimes and even genocide in Gaza. The rest of the world is witness to these atrocities on a daily basis. 

We might not have control over agreements or investments made in our parent companies. But we can clearly state our opposition to KKR’s unethical investments. And we hereby, unequivocally, do so. 

Milkshake will always stand with her audience, and will always speak up in the face of injustice. We will always use our platform to uplift all the brilliant artists from our most cherished communities. We never stop working with LGBTQ+ organizations and charities. 

We recognize that there are many humanitarian crises taking place currently, and that the war in Gaza is one of them. Us choosing to speak up about KKR’s investments in complicit Israeli corporations does not mean we do not also acknowledge the suffering of other victims in ongoing wars. 

We want to thank those of you who have reached out to us directly to voice their concerns. Friends of the festival, activists, and artists who are working with us through this challenging period. 

For All Who Love.