Emporium was first organized in 2005, when the city of Nijmegen celebrated its 2000 year anniversary. The city asked Matrixx, known from the club events in Nijmegen, to take care of the celebration for the youth of the city by organizging a dance festival. Since Nijmegen is the oldest city of The Netherlands and founded by the Romans as Noviomagus, the Roman theme was perfect for a dance festival in celebration of the city, and so Emporium was born!

With about 10.000 visitors the first edition was a huge success, and Matrixx decided to continue the festival the following years. The theme of the first year was changed to a different age or empire in the following years, leading to editions about the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Americans, Mayans and Incans, The dark ages, Arabia, Holland and India. Now, the 10th edition of Emporium, is going back to its roots with the theme of the very first edition: The Roman Empire!