By now, you’ve likely heard of a silent disco. However, many people may be wondering, “What is a silent disco?” Put simply, a silent disco is an event where people dance and listen to music through headphones. There are two or three active listening channels for users to choose between that play different music at most of these silent events. This way, everyone can enjoy the event regardless of their music tastes.
In addition, this also means that if anyone wants to talk to one another, they don’t have to yell over the music. Those that wish to speak can just take off their headphones and have a conversation. Not to mention, there’s no worry of disturbing any neighbors or passersby with loud music. Silent discos have been around for some time. However, it took a while for this innovative idea to gain popularity.
While this silent party has become more well-known, more venues are taking up the idea, offering silent disco parties in nightclubs and more, as well as silent disco rental packages so people can enjoy a silent party at home. Today, we’ll examine the silent disco, its beginnings, and more.
The History of the Silent Disco
The Glastonbury Festival frequently holds silent discos nowadays. However, this festival is actually how the silent disco got its start. The idea originated due to noise restrictions from local people trying to sleep during the nearby festival. When the noise limits were enforced, the festival organizers worked to find a solution to keep their festival-goers entertained without disturbing anyone’s sleep. Ultimately, the idea of the silent disco was pitched and accepted. They went on to try out this new idea, and it was such a hit that Glastonbury continues to have these silent events every year.
After the Glastonbury Festival, silent events continued to gain popularity, making an appearance by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) having a silent disco at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. Not long after, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago held a silent event with artist Meg Duguid. Since then, silent parties have continued to gain popularity, becoming a fun way to enjoy a party without disturbing those not participating.
Silent Discos in the Media
Silent discos haven’t been limited to a few scattered public events. These silent parties have even shown up in the media. For example, Demi Lovato featured a story on the Episode Interactive mobile app, her World Tour episode, in which she attends a silent disco. This silent event was created to encourage people to enjoy themselves dancing to music while getting exercise. In 2016, the hit reality television series, Celebrity Big Brother, featured an episode where the Big Brother housemates had a silent disco party.
Silent Events With Endless Possibilities
Aside from the meteoric rise in silent discos, many people are finding new, innovative ways to use silent disco headphones. There are endless possibilities for the future of silent discos, from using silent disco headphones at wedding receptions to having silent parties at home to using silent disco headphones in business presentations or seminars.
This silent technology can even be employed to help with the language barrier in international presentations. For example, suppose you need to meet with a panel of professionals from varying countries. In this case, each could use a set of silent disco headphones tuned to a channel featuring their primary language. As a result, everyone receives all of the information simultaneously without needing numerous interpreters alongside the presenter.
Silent discos may have taken a while to get popular, but now, more and more places are incorporating these events and finding new ways to utilize them. The future looks bright for these events (and sounds silent).