The Heineken Music Hall was Amsterdam’s defining mid-size concert arena from its opening on 1 February 2001 until the end of 2016, hosting Beyoncé, Radiohead, Pink, Madonna, Coldplay, and dozens of other headline acts in its purpose-built 6,000-capacity main hall.
In January 2017 the venue was rebranded AFAS Live after Dutch software firm AFAS Software replaced Heineken as the naming sponsor — but the address, the acoustic design, and the international touring calendar remain unchanged. It is still one of Amsterdam’s busiest and most acclaimed concert halls.
Quick Answer
The Heineken Music Hall was a 6,000-capacity indoor concert venue at Arena Boulevard 590, 1101 DS Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Netherlands. It opened on 1 February 2001, was operated by Live Nation, and was officially renamed AFAS Live on 1 January 2017 when Heineken’s 15-year naming sponsorship expired. The venue continues to operate today under the AFAS Live name.
Venue at a Glance
Location: Arena Boulevard 590, 1101 DS Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Netherlands | Nearest metro: Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA (approx. 2-minute walk) | Type: Indoor concert hall | Opened: 1 February 2001 | Construction: 1996–2001 | Cost: €30 million | Architect: Frits van Dongen, Architekten Cie | Main hall (Black Box) capacity: 6,000 | After-party hall (Beat Box) capacity: 700 | Owner: City of Amsterdam | Operator: Live Nation | Annual visitors: approx. 650,000 | Current name: AFAS Live (since 1 January 2017)
Capacity: The Black Box and Beat Box Halls
The Heineken Music Hall’s main hall — known internally as the ‘Black Box’ — holds up to 6,000 people across a 3,000-square-metre standing floor. Architect Frits van Dongen designed it from the ground up for amplified music, meaning the acoustics were engineered for live sound rather than retrofitted, giving touring acts a powerful and consistent audio environment. According to venue descriptions corroborated by industry sources, no Dutch venue has earned as many Pollstar Award nominations for Best International Concert Venue.
A second space called the ‘Beat Box’ accommodates up to 700 people and was designed specifically for after-parties and DJ sets that follow the main headline show. This lets the venue run a full concert in the Black Box and a simultaneous or follow-on club night in the Beat Box, maximising programming on a single evening. Both halls continue to operate under the AFAS Live brand.
Address and How to Get There
The official address is Arena Boulevard 590, 1101 DS Amsterdam-Zuidoost (some recent listings use the name Johan Cruijff Boulevard 590 following a local street renaming in the area). The venue sits in Amsterdam’s Zuidoost district, directly opposite the Johan Cruijff ArenA football stadium, inside the broader Arena entertainment cluster.
Getting there by public transport is simple: Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA metro station is approximately a two-minute walk (around 100–200 metres) from the venue entrance and is served by metro lines 50 and 54, as well as regional bus routes. From Amsterdam Centraal station the metro journey takes roughly 15 minutes. For drivers, Q-Park operates a nearby car park serving the Arena complex.
Doors typically open at 18:30 on concert nights, though exact times vary by event. The on-site Restaurant First offers pre-concert dining with table reservations available via the venue website. Inside the halls, drinks are purchased using a plastic token system.
History and Design
Construction on the Heineken Music Hall ran from 1996 to 2001, producing a building that cost €30 million and was purpose-built for large-scale pop and electronic concerts rather than adapted from a sports or theatre space. Architect Frits van Dongen of Amsterdam firm Architekten Cie gave the exterior a distinctive aluminium facade — originally bearing the Heineken Music Hall branding — which was later updated with 70,000 blue caps spelling out ‘AFAS Live’ when the rebrand took effect in 2017.
Location was a strategic asset from the start. Sitting next to the then-Amsterdam ArenA (now Johan Cruijff ArenA), the hall slotted into an entertainment district with direct metro access and existing event infrastructure. Its 6,000-person capacity placed it precisely in the tier of venue that international touring acts could headline without moving up to a full outdoor stadium — large enough for major names, manageable enough for strong production values.
Heineken Arena vs Heineken Music Hall: Clearing Up the Confusion
The terms ‘Heineken Arena’ and ‘Heineken Music Hall’ are sometimes used interchangeably online, but they refer to the same building — the indoor concert hall at Arena Boulevard 590. The venue’s official name from 2001 to 2016 was always the Heineken Music Hall, never the Heineken Arena.
The large football stadium adjacent to the venue is an entirely separate building. It opened as the Amsterdam ArenA and was renamed the Johan Cruijff ArenA in 2018 in honour of Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff. That stadium has never carried a Heineken sponsorship name. If you are looking for the 55,000-seat outdoor arena used for Ajax home matches and stadium-scale concerts, that is the Johan Cruijff ArenA — not the Heineken Music Hall.
Notable Moments
Over its 16 years as the Heineken Music Hall the venue assembled a strong record of high-profile bookings. Beyoncé, Radiohead, Pink, Madonna, Coldplay, Lou Reed, James Taylor, Marilyn Manson, and Limp Bizkit all performed on the Black Box stage. On 1 December 2012 the hall hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, bringing an internationally televised song competition to Amsterdam.
In March 2018, operating as AFAS Live, the venue hosted Charles Aznavour at the age of 93 — setting an all-time age record for any performer at the hall. It was among his final concerts before his death in October 2018. The venue has also appeared on live albums by Alter Bridge and Within Temptation, and served as the setting for Eurovision in Concert 2019.
One offbeat footnote from the Heineken Music Hall era: Kanye West reportedly requested a €10,000 white-carpet dressing room fit-out for his appearance — and then never used it.
Rebranding as AFAS Live
Heineken’s naming sponsorship expired at the end of 2016. On 1 January 2017 the venue officially became AFAS Live, with AFAS Software BV — a business software company headquartered in Leusden, Netherlands — stepping in as the new naming partner. The City of Amsterdam retained ownership of the building and Live Nation continued to manage daily operations and programming.
The rebrand updated the name and the aluminium facade branding but changed nothing else — same address, same two halls, same capacity, same pipeline of international touring acts. For anyone searching under the old name, AFAS Live is the present-day identity of the Heineken Music Hall.
heineken music hall amsterdam FAQs
What was the capacity of the Heineken Music Hall?
The main ‘Black Box’ hall held up to 6,000 people across a 3,000-square-metre floor. The smaller ‘Beat Box’ after-party space had a separate capacity of 700.
What is the address of the Heineken Music Hall?
The address is Arena Boulevard 590, 1101 DS Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Netherlands (also referenced as Johan Cruijff Boulevard 590 in some listings following a local street renaming). The venue now trades as AFAS Live.
Is the Heineken Music Hall still open?
Yes. The building is still active as a concert venue. It was renamed AFAS Live on 1 January 2017 when AFAS Software replaced Heineken as the naming sponsor. Live Nation manages operations and major international acts continue to perform there.
What is the ‘Heineken Arena’ in Amsterdam?
‘Heineken Arena’ is an informal name sometimes applied to the Heineken Music Hall. The venue’s official name was always the Heineken Music Hall (2001–2016), not the Heineken Arena. The large outdoor football stadium next door — the Johan Cruijff ArenA — is a completely separate venue and has never held a Heineken sponsorship name.
How do I get to the Heineken Music Hall (AFAS Live)?
Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA metro station is approximately a two-minute walk from the venue entrance and is served by metro lines 50 and 54. From Amsterdam Centraal the journey takes around 15 minutes. Buses also stop at the Bijlmer ArenA interchange.
When did the Heineken Music Hall become AFAS Live?
Heineken’s 15-year naming sponsorship ended on 31 December 2016. The venue officially became AFAS Live on 1 January 2017. The building, address, and two concert halls were unchanged by the rebrand.
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