Harry Styles’ Amsterdam residency forces AFC Ajax to move stadiums for play-off match

Harry Styles‘ ongoing residency in Amsterdam has inadvertently led to the football team AFC Ajax being turfed out of their own stadium, the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Styles began his Together Together tour in the Dutch capital at the home of AFC Ajax on May 16th, before performing again at the Johan Cruijff Arena on May 17th.

The Grammy-winner is also due to play there on May 20th, May 22nd, May 23rd, May 26th, May 29th, May 30th, June 4th, and June 5th.

As AFC Ajax’s last home game of the season took place on May 10th, there should have been no overlap, and the Johan Cruijff Arena was free to use for Styles’ shows. However, they didn’t anticipate having a season from hell and finishing fifth, requiring them to play another game.

On May 21st, they are now set to face FC Groningen in a play-off for the UEFA Conference League, but due to Styles’ residency, they have now had to find a new stadium to host the game.

As the 55-000-capacity Johan Cruijff Arena is out of action, the match will instead take place at the considerably smaller Kras Stadion in Volenam, located 45 kilometres away from their usual home ground.

Similarly, Grasshopper Club Zurich had to play a decisive play-off game in Lugano in 2025, which is over 200 kilometres away, due to their stadium in the Swiss capital being occupied by Imagine Dragons.

On the other hand, in North America, artists including Florence and the Machine, Bruce Springsteen, Lewis Capaldi, and Carín León have all had to recently reschedule their concerts due to the NBA play-offs taking priority at arenas rather than sports teams opting to move.

After he’s finished up in Amsterdam, Styles is set to take on 12 concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium in June and an eye-watering 30 shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden later this year.

He is joined by Robyn in Amsterdam, with other support acts for the rest of his dates including Shania Twain, Fcukers, Jorja Smith, Jamie XX, Fousheé, Skye Newman, and Baby J.

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE

Never Miss A Beat

The Far Out Music Newsletter

All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.