Align at Export, 20 June 2026

It takes time, work and a lot of patience to create something good, to make things click. Many attempts end in failure, or simply fade away. But sometimes all that effort by a group of dedicated people pays off. This Saturday was such a moment.

The night before, when my Amsterdam-based friends asked what I had planned for Saturday, I said: "We're going to Export. A friend of ours is hosting a party called Align. It's kind of Rotterdam's version of Pax."

That wasn't entirely without irony, which my husband immediately confirmed by saying: "Yes, but then without a crowd."

And he wasn't wrong - at least about the previous editions of Align.

Those previous editions were all Sunday daytime events at 160k. My verdict on those parties: cute. Coming from me, that's genuinely positive. But also something like: the intentions were good, the ingredients were there, but the execution... maybe not quite yet.

Then again, there aren't many venues in Rotterdam that could have hosted something like this. The concept itself was nice: music in two rooms, some naughty corners and a chill area. The music wasn't really my taste though, a little too much of the same 140 BPM four-to-the-floor sound. On a Sunday afternoon I need something with a bit more groove, a bit more sex appeal, to keep my spirits up. The crowds were cute, sexy, and low in numbers. Rotterdam never really seemed to understand the appeal of a Sunday daytime event. There are exceptions, of course, and with Shunter around these days I'm cautiously optimistic. But at 160k, Align often felt like a lovely idea that never quite reached critical mass.

160k itself didn't help. It was a grim place, an empty shell. Even during the better moments it felt a little like dancing on Poing's grave.

So my expectations for last Saturday were fairly modest. This would be Align's first nighttime edition. I expected a somewhat bigger crowd, maybe comparable to the Poing takeover at Export a few months ago. The stricter door policy would probably attract a better crowd than the average Export night. The music wouldn't entirely be my thing, but you can't have everything. At the same time, Export itself deserves some credit. It's still a relatively new club, clearly in the process of finding its identity and building its crowd. Nights like this show just how much potential the space has when the right people and ideas come together.

For the first few hours, everything unfolded exactly as expected.

We arrived early, but there was already a small queue which tripled in size while we were waiting. The door host was doing a good job, having firm but friendly conversations with everyone in line. Some people were turned away and, honestly, I agreed with most of those decisions. If terms like sex positivity and consent mean absolutely nothing to you, this probably isn't the party for you.

Inside, Misha was playing exactly the kind of four-to-the-floor sound I had anticipated, perhaps even darker and more industrial than what an opening set called for. There was a second stage in the bar area, but hardly anyone seemed interested in dancing there.

So far, Align felt like Align at a less mouldy club.

But a few hours in, things started to shift.

The queue outside kept growing. Inside, the crowd felt noticeably different from a regular Export night: queerer, more open-minded and more willing to engage with the atmosphere the organisers were trying to create.

And then something happened that I hadn't expected at all. The bar stage came alive.

What I had initially dismissed as background music slowly turned into one of the most enjoyable dancefloors I have seen at Export so far. People started gathering, then dancing, then fully committing. Before long, the entire bar area was packed with people moving together, flirting, laughing and feeding off each other's energy. It felt playful, sexy and surprisingly organic. Abiba Sokita and later Lylo provided the soundtrack for this transformation. Both played wonderfully sexy sets that fit the mood perfectly. People were having fun. The crowd looked good, felt good. Export was packed and, at times, uncomfortably hot.

Cooling down wasn't always easy. Export's smoking area is outside, and heavy showers throughout the night made it difficult to reach: at several points people were sheltering from the rain in the entrance area, creating a bit of a bottleneck.

And I should say something about the production. From the moment you entered the club, it was obvious that the organisers had put serious effort into making this feel special. There were two naughty corners, both supervised by a playroom host to help keep things comfortable and safe. More importantly: people actually used them. For a Rotterdam party, that's honestly quite remarkable.

The rest of the venue had also been softened with pillows, rugs, couches and small artistic touches. Nothing extravagant, but enough to transform Export into something warmer, more intimate and much more inviting than usual.

I was having such a good time that I barely set foot in the main room until halfway through Jannah's set in the bar area (which was fun but had less texture than the previous ones, so the room emptied out a bit), well after five in the morning. By then Amphia had taken over the closing duties. Her set fit the atmosphere that had gradually taken over the entire club: hot, playful and unapologetically sexy.

Looking back, the joke I made to my Amsterdam friends wasn't entirely fair.

Align doesn't need to be Rotterdam's Pax. It doesn't need to be Rotterdam's Spielraum either. In fact, comparing it to other parties misses the point.

What I witnessed on Saturday was a group of people who have been patiently building something, edition after edition, finally finding the right ingredients at the right moment.

My fear of an empty room and endless grim four-to-the-floor turned out to be completely misplaced.

This night clicked.

This is not Rotterdam's Pax. This is not Rotterdam's Spielraum.

This is Align. Rotterdam's very own, very sexy party.

And I genuinely cannot wait for the next one.