To most people, music festivals are a way of letting out steam and watch some of their beloved artists perform, but Tomorrowland is not your typical music festival. In fact, the festival, held in the town of Boom (real name) in Belgium, is perhaps one of the world’s most effective and globally loved brands. If you haven’t heard about it then you are up for a ride.
Founded by two brothers, Manu and Michiel Beers in 2005, Tomorrowland is an Electronic Dance Music festival which has grown steadily ever since its humble foundation. The first edition brought together 500-1000 party-goers, however already in its third edition, there were over 50,000 attendees. The 2019 edition touted as the most expensive in terms of production (organisers decline to confirm exact figures), welcomed 400,000 visitors over two weekends and featured over 1000 artists in 18 stages spread over the massive 38 hectares area.
Over 2 million people registered for tickets from every single country in the world (including North Korea, Afghanistan, and Syria) and “only” 400,000 lucky people, with an average age of 27 and oldest being the local resident aged 83 who has visited the festival since its beginning, got the opportunity to buy the tickets. And boy did they buy. The festival was sold out in just 45 minutes (Only Glastonbury sold out quicker, in 36 minutes, but that festival hosted “only” 267,000 attendees). The festival is rumoured to make consistently over €20 million ($22 / 18 GPB)) in profit, however the production costs are closely kept secret, but one can imagine they are very high.
Over 15,000 members of staff (none of which were volunteers) worked there, which is more than many music festivals, with over 500 members of international media who took part. Over 2 million beer pints were sold during the two weekends, paid with Tomorrowlands own currency, Pearls. Tomorrowland also dwarfs other music festivals (or almost any other kind event on Earth) in the online world: only on Facebook, they have over 14.7 million followers (in comparison Coachella has just 2.7 million followers...), and their famous Facebook live emission had over 210.000 live viewers at its peak with over 718 million impressions. And then there is the famous Tomorrowland Aftermovie, which are over 20 minute long movies that seem to be put together by Hollywood level production team and consistently pull in over millions of views. According to several insiders, all DJ’s earn the exact same amount, which makes it even more fascinating, when taking into consideration that global superstar DJ’s such as Armin van Buuren and Tiesto would earn the same as the upcoming first time DJ playing on the smallest stage. Talking about the stages, each stage has their own crazy theme from the fire spewing Dragon stage to the Mushroom stage and waterfall stage (not official names) to the incredible Main stage with its mind-blowing audio visuals accompanied with floating dancers and fireworks. There aren’t really enough words to describe the level of production at the stages, one must simply experience them in person.
Freedom stage
Ladies and Gentlemen, Tomorrowland is an astronomical event in every sense of the word. There is nothing normal or bland about it. Visiting it for the first time, for many, can be a life-impacting event. In fact, this is what many visitors get to experience! According to Debby Wilmsen, the communication director and de facto face of the festival (the founders are famously media-shy), several marriage proposals such as the Belgian & Colombian couple who first met in the festival years ago finally agreed to get engaged at the main stage during the Lost Frequencies set. Debby goes on to say that the festival really feels like a family production, and one must admit that as a visitor of many festivals, the staff at Tomorrowland have been the most professional, helpful and eager to help anyone. Even the intern, Tom Blommers, went out of his way to walk over 10 minutes in the pouring rain (without an umbrella) to give our car the parking pass, and was constantly available to provide information and assistance (even after festival hours) to make our experience sublime.
The majestic production of every stage and the detailed-oriented approach to everything (even the garbage bins were custom made), health and safety, information and logistics were done to the T. Logistically, Tomorrowland is a well-honed machine that leaves nothing to chance and you can feel it.
For many travelling from outside of Europe, the festival already begins at home, from the moment of securing the ticket (many have tried several years to buy without success), to the parties at departure gates of several international airports and even onboard of aeroplanes where parties take place with Tomorrowland playlists, that blast the speakers system. Even on some Brussels Airlines flights, there are festival DJ’s playing their sets accompanied by visual arrangements that build up the experience towards an incredible climax for the visitors when they finally enter the festival. And once there, many festival-goers decide to accommodate in the Dreamville, a gigantic space of over 45 hectares which is basically a city of 38,000 residents where guests can stay in Tomorrowland branded tents, huts or even luxury cabins with their own private toilets, jacuzzis and all the luxuries one might need. Dreamville also had its own supermarket, swimming pool area, tattoo parlour, relax rooms, bakeries, morning sports and workout sessions and even a tent where people can get married (and they did!).
Nervo, the twin sister DJ act from Australia, who have played in Tomorrowland several times before, have usually been provided main stage time. “We’ve always been welcomed here with open arms, love and with complete trust, which is so rare in the music industry, especially towards female artists,” says Miriam. “For us, Tomorrowland has been a fantastic springboard for our careers,” says Olivia. Sam Feldt, upcoming young Dutch DJ concurs, “There aren’t many events in the world that come even close to this, it’s not just a festival but a real place of love, compassion and deep connection with EDM,'' says Sam. His main stage set, one of the most energetic and creative during the entire festival, was a mixture of live musicians and his fantastic beats, which grabbed the imagination of the party people, even during the pouring rain.
Sam Feldt
The outpouring of love and compassion we kept hearing about from so many, prior and during the festival, seemed to ring true as we toured the festival and soaked in the atmosphere, which felt completely genuine. People wanted to organically connect with each other and show their love, this was quite an emotional thing to witness to be honest. Israelis and Iranians were dancing side by side, while Russians and Ukrainians were sharing a meal and Chinese and Japanese held hands and sang the big anthems while waving their flags. Rarely does one see such greatness in humanity in one location. One felt very safe at the festival too, and in fact, many female festival-goers including one in my company, admitted that this was the only festival they’ve been to where they have not been groped or sexually harassed, at all, and that speaks volumes about the profile of attendees of Tomorrowland and the atmosphere the organisers have managed to create.
The festival area
What also makes the festival stand out is its customer-centric approach, which is manifested by providing information everywhere while handheld maps made navigating the enormous area straightforward and less daunting. The staff were always nearby in case people got lost, boosted by several information and security points. Emergency services were constantly on the alert with the signage for emergency exits, made visitors feel safe and taken care of. Even the simple detail of walking around the festival area was extremely well thought through and executed to the perfection, with directional roads were created in order not to have those horrible bottlenecks. Additionally, healthy food and drinks were abundantly available around each stage area, with fantastically designed recycle bins available everywhere, which is also why the festival was one of the cleanest we’ve ever seen.
The biggest stages had their own hospitality areas where VIP’s, press and artists had access to beverages, showers, privileged viewing points, delicious food and even a jacuzzi and sauna area (they even provided the swimwear!). Inside the main-stage, the VIP’s had the opportunity to dine Michelin level food while watching the DJ’s and the audience party away. At the backstage of the main-stage, several professional osteopaths gave massages to the artists, performers and to odd journalists, provided free by the festival organisers. “This is the only festival that I’m aware of that takes care of their artists and performers in such detail, they really care about the wellbeing of their performers,” said Evelien Voets, the Belgian osteopath and many time festival goer herself.
The entertainers
The business also flourished in Tomorrowland, but instead of blatant sponsorship and over-visible brands, visitors were treated to extremely well-integrated marketing that didn’t shout but instead communicated. Tomorrowland is known to be able to select sponsors (they line up to sponsor years ahead) and the conditions are always laid down by the organisers. Some stages, which are sponsored, don’t seem to be branded but more integrated into the infrastructure and production. There are of course the typical water and beer brands clearly visible but one does not have the sensation of being at a corporate paid festival. The souvenir shops at the festival were hammering in business with many articles selling out in a matter of hours, such as the €50 hats and €80 T-shirts, but such is the pull of this brand that the customers want a piece of it. It is therefore extremely rare what the Beers brothers have managed to create, a growing and truly loved festival brand out that reaches every country in the world, which has not only changed lives and careers, but also the way people experience music. Music in the end is the true connector of humanity, we may not speak the same languages and read mathematics, but we feel the music.
Tomorrowland’s famous mantra hits it home for many visitors, many of whom (especially those in Love) decide to take it as a tattoo, brings together the ethos of this fantastic experience: Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever.
