Talk:Silent disco

added the link

Had to learn how to reference links before I could add the link, that's done now. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rafaleaz (talk • contribs) 16:19, 4 March 2007 (UTC).

How does this work? Is it regular FM radio headphones or is this special equipment? Just curious. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.79.161.1 (talk) 17:48, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Other article

There's another article on this. It is located at the address with the "d" in "disco" capitalized. It's not nearly as long but I don't know how to suggest they be merged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.162.220.245 (talk) 05:27, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

There are two pages, Silent Disco and Silent disco, and the latter confuses Mobile Clubbing with Silent Disco. The latter needs weeding for sure. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.148.140.172 (talk) 00:36, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Silent Disco is sure a trademarked company used by the original large scale company in Rotterdam - Called Silent Disco and the reason this concept is actually called Silent Disco —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.149.253.78 (talk) 12:34, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Merge of Mobile Clubbing

Mobile Clubbing is just a subset of silent disco, and the content is less developed than this main article. I propose it be merged. Fences and windows (talk) 01:11, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Mobile Clubbing is not a subset of silent disco. It was independently conceived, functions differently and to with a different underlying concept to it, first that it is flash mob whereas Silent Disco is not - a point already made in the Silent Disco article where it mentions a silent disco event being 'mistaken' for a flash mob by the media. So a merger per se would be misleading, but a piece exploring the development of these similar but fundamentally distinct and autonomously conceived events would be good, while leaving hte original pages Silent Disco, Mobile Clubbing - separate. robinoi@yahoo.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.157.211.234 (talk) 12:24, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Adding information with commercial interests

Recently this article has been subject to links and information being added that contains commercial interests with direct links to commercial sites and unsubstantiated claims. In the most recent edit of this nature a claim that the term was coined in 2002 by a pair of dutch DJs contained a reference to an article from 2005 which stated that the concept and not the name was concieved in 2002. As the film Ruusujen Aika and the BBC news article both predate 2002 the concept using headphones in place of amplifed speakers was concieved prior to 2002. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Error78 (talk • contribs) 11:00, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Other areas

Can someone include a portion about silent discos in other countries?

They've been going on in South Korea for at least a few years now in the Hongdae area

--119.193.155.51 (talk) 18:55, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

This does need to be done but from an unbias perspective and only to include notable events and not just that they simply have occured in a country as 10s of countries have played host to these events Error78 (talk) 10:34, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

Spontaneous voices at silent discos

Should there be a section on spontaneous voices at silent discos, especially in the UK? For example:

https://skwawkbox.org/2018/08/13/boardmasters-festival-silent-disco-18000-sing-oh-jeremy-corbyn/

Boardmasters festival silent disco: 18,000 sing ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’ 13/08/2018

131.111.184.102 (talk) 12:55, 14 August 2018 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Reading Culture

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation–supported course assignment, between 18 January 2022 and 11 May 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ellagoede (article contribs).

Silent Disco in 1928

Here a illustration of a Silent Disco, published in The Sunday Graphic, 9 December 1928: https://www.flickr.com/photos/11561957@N06/52602618208/ --Kyopy (talk) 23:30, 16 April 2023 (UTC)

Is this your defence to keep telling the whole world that eco activists organising a a festival are the true originators of silent disco? whats the point of this image?

does it validate listening to football trough headphones as a silent disco? 2A02:8109:9290:A200:A0E5:CD8D:2BD6:1A50 (talk) 11:33, 5 October 2025 (UTC)

Clarifying the Concept and Origins of Silent Disco - Request for correction

Hello,

I have tried several times to correct the “Silent Disco” article to include the true origins of the concept as I personally witnessed and contributed to them — but my edits are repeatedly removed for “lack of sources.” I understand Wikipedia’s sourcing policy (WP:V) and the need for verifiable references, but I would like to point out a clear inconsistency that deserves review.

The current version of the article includes a story about eco-activists being the origin of the “Silent Disco” idea. However, this story itself is unverified — it has no traceable or credible primary source. A review of independent sources shows nowhere on the internet any confirmation of these events as the origin of silent discos. The claim has been copied and repeated by blogs and media outlets worldwide, yet they all trace back to this very Wikipedia article as the original source. In other words, the “eco-activist origin” narrative is self-referential and lacks independent evidence.

By contrast, my contribution is based on first-hand experience. I lived near De Parade in the Netherlands, where the first Silent Disco took place — just 300 meters from my home. I personally witnessed the event and had previously discussed the concept with Nico Okkerse, before he hosted his first headphone-based dance event. I had already developed and disclosed a project around this concept, which he later implemented and publicly claimed credit for.

It is important to distinguish between the use of headphones at concerts or festivals (which predates the Silent Disco) and the creation of a headphone-based dance floor — a completely different format and experience. The so-called “eco-activist” explanation describes live concerts or listening to broadcasts, not a dance party or disco event. A disco implies active dancing on a dancefloor with music transmitted via headphones.

My request is simple: If an unverified claim (the eco-activist story) is permitted to remain on the page without any proven source, then either:

1. My first-hand testimony and correction should also be acknowledged with an appropriate note of attribution; or

2. The unverified “eco-activist” origin claim should be removed for failing the same verifiability standard that has been used to reject my contributions.

Wikipedia’s neutrality and credibility depend on consistency — unverified claims should not be selectively accepted or rejected. If my edits are removed for lack of credible sources, then the entire Silent Disco article would need to be rewritten, and Wikipedia should apply consistent enforcement of its sourcing policies.

Just looking for an accurate and fair representation of history... like this article

www.silentworldevents.com/silent-disco-history-and-origins

Finally, to make the matter clear.

Can Wikipedia show any credible source, videos, photos, or reports of these eco-activist or other festivals actually being a silent disco or of people dancing with headphones?

Can Wikipedia explain why festivals where people were listening to football on headphones, or to a live band, qualify as a silent disco?

Sincerely, Cisco sa 2A02:8109:9290:A200:A0E5:CD8D:2BD6:1A50 (talk) 07:19, 5 October 2025 (UTC)

Proposal for Correction: Silent Disco Origins

Many current articles—including Wikipedia—repeat multiple historical inaccuracies about the origins of the Silent Disco. Common errors include:

Crediting 1960s science fiction (e.g., Astro Boy, obscure Finnish films) as inspiration.

Claiming eco-activism, wildlife protection, or FM broadcasts (e.g., Glastonbury 1994) as the origin of Silent Discos is misleading. A related misconception is Wikipedia’s claim that Silent Discos originated with eco-activists. In reality, the Pippi Autoloze Zondag(Cisco Sa) (Car-Free Sunday) events in the Netherlands—an eco-activist initiative—used pirate radios to broadcast music to participants. This setting became a technical testing ground where the foundational technology for the Silent Disco concept was first developed.

Attributing the term “Silent Disco” to U.S. festivals, such as Bonnaroo 2005. while the tearn silent disco already existed in the Netherelands silentdisco.com domain was bought by teh ditch in 2002, how can it be an american thing, when it already was labeled by teh dutch first?

1. - see archive.org 2002 - 2003 - (https://web.archive.org/web/20031209083525/http://www.433fm.com/indexeng.html)

These sources conflate passive listening with the participatory dance experience that defines a true Silent Disco. The concept was actually conceived by Cisco Sa in Portugal in the early 1980s and later developed in eco activist ection Pippi Autoloze Zondag and then commercialized by Dutch Nico Okkerse and Michael Minten in 2002.

1. - see pippi autoloze zondag (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car-free_days)

Many sources repeat the same incorrect claims from wikipedia about the origins of the Silent Disco, creating a feedback loop: Wikipedia scans the web, sees these repetitions, and cites them as verification, which then causes more websites to echo the same story. This cycle gives the appearance of consensus, even though the original claims are inaccurate. The topic deserves serious inspection and correction; primary-source evidence is available here

silentdisco.de/silent-disco-origins-and-history ~2026-46793-2 (talk) 08:28, 22 January 2026 (UTC)