IMS Ibiza 2026: Reclaim The Dancefloor Returns to House Music's Birthplace

The International Music Summit returns for its 17th edition this April, bringing an urgent conversation about culture, technology, and the future of electronic music back to the Balearic island that helped give house music its global identity.

A Summit Built on the Spirit of the Dancefloor

The International Music Summit is heading back to Ibiza for its 17th edition, running from 22 to 24 April 2026. For a genre whose very soul was forged in the sweat and euphoria of the dancefloor, this edition carries particular weight. The theme chosen for IMS Ibiza 2026 is 'Reclaim The Dancefloor', framed as a direct response to what organisers describe as a defining moment for the global electronic music community, as its culture and foundational values become increasingly shaped by forces operating far beyond the club environment.

For house music lovers, that question has never As private investment, consolidation, the acceleration of artificial intelligence, shifting audience behaviours, and rapid digital innovation redefine how music is created, distributed, experienced, and monetised, IMS Ibiza will bring together artists, industry leaders, and cultural curators to examine what is being gained, what is being lost, and what must be protected felt more pressing. For house music lovers, that question has never felt more pressing.

Back at Cala Llonga for a Third Year

For the 2026 edition, IMS returns to the Mondrian and Hyde complex in Cala Llonga, the twin beachfront hotel complex where the conference made its debut in 2024. The venue sits overlooking the crystal clear waters of Cala Llonga bay, framed by pine covered hills, offering a setting that feels entirely fitting for an event dedicated to the culture that turned Ibiza into the spiritual home of house music. The twin resort has quickly become inseparable from the identity of the modern IMS, providing both the space and the atmosphere that serious industry dialogue demands.

The 2026 programme features more than 140 sessions and over 240 speakers, all unified under the central theme of Reclaim the Dancefloor, a challenge to the global community to refocus on the shared values and raw energy that made house music a worldwide cultural movement in the first place.

What Is on the Agenda

Programming for IMS Ibiza 2026 is built around a range of pressing subjects, including artificial intelligence, shifting investment patterns, evolving audience behaviours, global change, and the influence these external forces continue to have on the international electronic music industry.

The opening keynote from Steven Braines of HE.SHE.THEY sets the tone, while headline interviews include 2manydjs, Joseph Capriati, Sister Bliss of Faithless, Maykel Piron of Armada Music, and festival founder Dukagjin Lipa. The summit will also honour Yann Pissenem, CEO of The Night League, with the IMS Legends Award, recognising his contribution to the Ibiza club scene that has been central to house music's ongoing story on the island.

Major platforms shaping today's music economy will also have a strong presence at IMS 2026, including Apple Music, Beatport, YouTube, Deezer, and the Association for Electronic Music, ensuring that conversations cover everything from grassroots scenes to global infrastructure.

The Grand Finale: IMS Dalt Vila 2026

No edition of the International Music Summit would be complete without its legendary closing party, and the house music faithful have particular reason to be excited this year. IMS Dalt Vila 2026 takes place on Friday 24 April, presented by AlphaTheta in association with Appetite, returning to the UNESCO World Heritage Site within Ibiza's Old Town as the closing celebration of the 17th edition of the summit.

Set within a fortress that is more than 2,500 years old and positioned high above the Mediterranean with views across to the Catedral de Eivissa, the event takes the form of a seven hour open air celebration, bringing together both established and emerging DJs from across the electronic spectrum. Presale tickets sold out in under two hours, a testament to how deeply this event resonates with the house music community year after year.

The lineup reads like a cross section of where house music stands in 2026. Irish artist Jazzy arrives at a defining moment in her career, with her Afro leaning house sound having moved from club favourite to mainstream crossover force over the past eighteen months. Ahmed Spins, one of the most sought after new names in the genre, brings his fusion of Afro house and deep house to the ancient fortress walls, establishing himself as one of the standout voices shaping the current sound of the global dancefloor.

Ankhoï, whose groove driven house output is gaining serious traction across the international club circuit, also features, while UK DJ Locky brings a sound rooted in house and garage, shaped by years spent on London's underground dancefloors. L.P. Rhythm pays direct homage to the golden era of house music with his nineties influenced approach, grounding the night firmly in the genre's heritage. East London's Eliza Rose, a longtime club DJ, vocalist and producer, joins the bill with her deeply rooted feel for dancefloor energy and a track record that spans UK underground culture to international festival stages.

Closing the night, IMS co-founder Pete Tong returns once again to bring the summit to its conclusion at Dalt Vila, a man whose four decades of championing house music through BBC Radio 1 and beyond have made him as synonymous with Ibiza as the island's white buildings and midnight sunsets.

IMS Dalt Vila has taken on the role of the official start of the Ibiza season, and for house music fans around the world, there is no more fitting place to hear the first bass drop of summer than inside the ancient walls of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, high above the island that helped change the world of dance music forever.