Silent disco

A silent disco or silent rave is an event where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a speaker system, music is broadcast via a radio transmitter with the signal being picked up by wireless headphone receivers worn by the participants. Those without the headphones hear no music.

In the earliest days of silent discos, before 2005, music was transmitted on a single channel. Later a second and a third channel were introduced, transmitting different music.

Silent discos are popular at music festivals as they allow dancing to continue past noise curfews. Similar events are "mobile clubbing" gatherings, where a group of people dance to the music on their personal music players.

A series of silent discos taking place in cathedrals and historic buildings around the UK and Europe was organised in 2024.