Revelers gather as DJ Tiesto performs at the main stage at Tomorrowland music festival on July 19, ... [+]
One of the world’s largest global electronic dance music festivals, Tomorrowland, is taking place digitally over the weekend of July 25-26 to keep fans united during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year the event’s extravagant stage designs are planned to present a familiar yet entirely new experience–one that is shaping the future of music festivals in a socially-distanced world.
Tickets for Tomorrowland Around The World will be on sale beginning June 18. The festival is well known as a concert industry innovator by way of showcasing new technologies, immersive experiences and leading music acts at live events. This year’s two-day digital event is elevating the traditional music livestream format, which normally features DJs mixing in a studio or at home, to a new form of visual entertainment combining ultramodern video and entertainment technologies.
Tomorrowland co-founder Michiel Beers expects attendance to continue growing, considering a special discount that is being applied to tickets purchased for the digital event. Typically open only to adults ages 18 and older, the digital festival will welcome fans of all ages this summer.
“We pride ourselves with uniting people from over 200 countries every year in Belgium but by going digital, we hope to attract even more people to experience Tomorrowland first hand without having to travel,” says Beers. “We certainly expect to see new audience segments, including families experiencing the festival together, a younger generation, and people who love gaming and animation.”
The festival will be presented in a brand new digital platform that invites ticketholders to enter through a virtual 3D map. Themed “The Reflection of Love,” the event will present a fairytale-like environment featuring state of the art entertainment experiences including games, webinars, workshops and surprise interactions focused on fashion, food, lifestyle and the Tomorrowland Foundation.
A musical line up of leading techno, hardstyle, house and trance artists from around the globe will perform on a brand new main stage decorated with fireworks and a light show. The live event simulation will also allow attendees to “walk” to the event’s signature Atmosphere, Core, Freedom and Elixir stages. In addition, three new stages designed by Tomorrowland’s creative team and 3D artists will also feature DJs spinning at turntables. Festival content will remain available through video-on-demand to enjoy after the weekend ends.
Fireworks during set of DJ Tiësto at Tomorrowland music festival, Sunday 21 July 2019. BELGA PHOTO ... [+]
After the Belgian government cancelled all major events in late April due to concerns over the coronavirus, Beers says that his team immediately began offering weekly live streams titled “United Through Music,” which grew to attract more than 25 million active viewers. Based on that success, he is excited for the digital festival.
“We have created a new environment where we can produce a festival without any restrictions,” Beers says. “We could see virtual festivals becoming an ongoing experience we provide the people of tomorrow, in addition to our current two annual festivals and residency in Ibiza.”
Held in Boom, Belgium, Tomorrowland typically sells out in minutes and attracts more than 400,000 attendees from more than 200 countries around the world. This year’s 16th edition, which was originally scheduled to feature hundreds of artists on the weekends of July 17-19 and July 24-26, was cancelled on April 15 over concerns related to the pandemic. Purchased tickets will be transferred to the next festival scheduled to take place from July 16-18 and July 23-25 in 2021.
Music performers are eagerly awaiting a return to live festivals, which as reported by Time, have grown to be a major source of their earnings. One such artist is Pink, who Pollstar ranked 2019’s highest-grossing artist worldwide based on grosses from 68 performances in the U.S. and Europe. She totaled $215.2 million from 1,818,933 tickets sold at 59 venues.
When in-person music festivals resume, technology-driven virtual experiences like Tomorrowland Around The World will hold them to higher standards. With no alternatives available, fans are growing to enjoy online music performances and the new types of experiences that they present. Pollstar reported that David Guetta reached 7.7 million views on Facebook during his May 30 “United at Home” concert in New York City.
David Grutman, a Miami-based music, nightlife and hospitality entrepreneur who founded Groot Hospitality collective and opened internationally acclaimed LIV nightclub at Fontainebleau, says, “Music has an amazing way of connecting people, and while it has been hard to replicate the vibe of a music festival in our living rooms at home, it is exciting to watch major DJs and music festivals around the globe get creative.”
