Ballaoke Amsterdam: a different way to celebrate

That’s where Ballaoke comes in. Think karaoke, but instead of standing in front of a screen in a karaoke room, you’re singing in a ball pit surrounded by thousands of balls, mirrors and an LED dance floor.

It’s loud, slightly chaotic and definitely not the kind of karaoke where everyone politely waits for their turn.

Whether you’re planning a birthday, bachelor or bachelorette party, or a team outing in Amsterdam, here’s what to expect from a Ballaoke session.

Karaoke, but in a ball pit for adults

With traditional karaoke, there’s usually one person singing while everyone else watches from the sofa.

Ballaoke gets the whole group involved.

You can sing, dance, jump into the ball pit or join whoever currently has control of the microphone. And because the ball pit is private for your group, there’s no audience of strangers watching your questionable attempt at Dancing Queen.

That makes Ballaoke especially fun for bigger groups. You don’t have to be the person who loves karaoke to get involved — although those people will probably find the microphone first.

Want to know more about where Ballaoke came from and how it works? Read our guide to [what Ballaoke is].

What happens during a Ballaoke session?

A Ballaoke session lasts 75 minutes and is suitable for groups of up to 20 people.

Once you’re inside, the ball pit is yours. There are more than 20,000 songs to choose from in different languages, so the setlist can go in pretty much any direction.

Start with a 00s classic, move on to a Dutch singalong and somehow end up doing K-pop choreography twenty minutes later. There are no rules here.

You can sing solo, grab someone for a duet or get the whole group involved. Drinks and bites are available too, so you can turn the session into part of a bigger night out.

Celebrating your birthday with Ballaoke

If you’re looking for a birthday activity in Amsterdam, Ballaoke works particularly well because the activity and the party happen at the same time.

Instead of meeting somewhere for drinks and figuring out what to do afterwards, your group has its own space for 75 minutes. Put on your favourite songs, hand your friends a microphone and see where the evening goes.

It also works well for larger birthday groups, with space for up to 20 people in one session.

One guest who celebrated their birthday at The All Out described it like this: “I celebrated my birthday at this place and I was amazed by the atmosphere.”

Not a bad way to start another year.

Planning a bachelor or bachelorette party?

Ballaoke and bachelor or bachelorette parties are a pretty natural combination.

You’ve already got the group. Now you just need the bride or groom’s favourite songs — or the songs they absolutely don’t want you to play.

Because everyone is in the same space, you don’t have to split a larger group across different karaoke rooms. You can sing together, take plenty of questionable photos and head to the bar afterwards for cocktails or another activity.

And yes, embarrassing the bride or groom with their teenage playlist is absolutely allowed.

Ballaoke as a team outing

Team outings can become awkward surprisingly quickly when an activity tries too hard to be team building.

Ballaoke isn’t a workshop. There are no icebreakers, presentations or exercises about communication styles.

It’s simply 75 minutes of singing, dancing and discovering which colleague knows every single word to a song they definitely claimed not to like.

For larger company outings, you can also combine Ballaoke with other games at The All Out, such as Interactive Darts, Electric Shuffleboard or Dutch Shuffle.

What can you do before or after Ballaoke?

One of the advantages of doing Ballaoke at The All Out is that you don’t have to plan three different locations for the same night.

Besides Ballaoke, there are private Karaoke Rooms, Interactive Darts, Electric Shuffleboard, Clay Shot and Dutch Shuffle. So you can start with a game, head into the ball pit and finish the night with drinks and shared bites at the bar.

In other words: your final song doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of the night.

Ballaoke or private karaoke: which should you choose?

Both involve microphones and songs you’ll probably regret choosing halfway through. The biggest difference is the setting and group size.

For groups of 10 to 20 people, Ballaoke gives you more room to move around and keeps everyone together in one ball pit. It’s a good option if you want karaoke to feel more like a group activity or party.

Coming with a smaller group? A private karaoke room might suit you better. You still get your own space and thousands of songs to choose from, but in a more intimate setting.

So if your idea of karaoke is sitting back with a cocktail and taking turns singing, go private. If you’d rather be dancing in a ball pit while someone screams the chorus next to you, you know where to go.

Good to know before you go

A Ballaoke session lasts 75 minutes and can accommodate up to 20 people. You choose an available date and time when booking online.

The All Out is located at Europaboulevard 1B in Amsterdam, close to Amsterdam RAI station.

If anyone in the group is under 16, at least one parent or guardian aged 18 or older needs to be present. For younger groups, visiting during the day is recommended.

Ready for Ballaoke in Amsterdam?

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, organising a bachelor or bachelorette party, planning a team outing or simply looking for something different to do with a big group, Ballaoke turns karaoke into something the whole group can be part of.

Pick your people, choose your time slot and start thinking about that first song.