*Photo courtesy of http/www.jonesaroundtheworld.com
Tomorrowland certainly needs no introduction. Arguably the world’s most recognized music festival, this years’ edition attracted over 400,000 festivalgoers from more than 200 countries. In this review I’ll be taking a holistic view at Tomorrowland 2018 to give you a better idea of what makes it the Mecca of all festivals.
Mainstage
First, we’ll look at some of the most mind-boggling stages which make Tomorrowland so famous. The most obvious is, of course, the massive Mainstage. This year’s theme, The Story of Planaxis (a genus of small sea snails) came to life on Tomorrowland’s largest stage. The intricate design and attention to detail created a lifelike underwater experience capped off by a massive seahorse front and center.
Atmosphere
Another stage which made some serious waves on social media was the new Atmosphere stage. This massive structure resembled a floating tent which immediately entranced music lovers. With thousands of LED lights covering the interior of this huge dancehall, Atmosphere quickly became heralded as a Techno lover’s dream following its debut with Drumcode. It also played host to arguably the best set of the two weeks, Eric Prydz during weekend two.
Freedom
Apart from these two stages, it’s worth mentioning the greatness of the Freedom Stage and The Arch. The Freedom Stage hosted some fantastic labels over the two weekends including Axtone and A State of Trance and is truly one of the greatest indoor venues we’ve ever seen. The massive LEDs which extend overhead from the front of the stage to the back of the crowd makes for a great show once the sun goes down.
The Arch
While The Arch may not be the most overwhelming of stages at Tomorrowland, it certainly gave us some of the best sets. Over the two weekends we were treated to Heldeep as well as the Tomorrowland debut of two labels, VII and KNTXT. KNTXT, a concept created by local hero and rising superstar Charlotte De Witte was home to absolute banging techno on Saturday of weekend two and was followed up by some serious Trance on Sunday from the likes of Alex di Stefano, Simon Patterson, and Astrix representing VII.
The Amazing Food
How many music festivals have you been to where a massive topic of discussion is the food? While the focus of most festivals is generally on lineups and productions, the quality and uniqueness of the food offerings at Tomorrowland are mind blowing.
The B-EAT Restaurant returned to Tomorrowland this year and is a definite must try experience. This features chefs from Las Vegas, Belgium, and Holland creating quite an exceptional menu. So, what makes B-EAT so unique? Well, this one-hour visit is complemented by a private DJ session. The DJs who perform are all kept as a surprise, but have included the likes of Vini Vici, Sam Feldt, and Nervo throughout the years.
If you thought the B-EAT Restaurant was cool, wait until you see the view of the Mainstage Restaurant. Its hard to imagine another festival in the world offering a lunch or dinner in this fashion.
The Travel Packages
Do you fancy starting the party before the festival even starts? Look no further than some of the impressive offerings Tomorrowland has. The Global Journey package offered 32,000 festivalgoers the chance to begin the party early, arriving together in trains, buses, and of course the famous party flights. 2018 featured 240 flights from 83 different airports, a testament to the truly global nature of the festival. Additionally, Discover Europe offers the People of Tomorrow the opportunity to combine the festival with sightseeing (and of course more partying) in European cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Ibiza, and more.
Tomorrowland is undoubtedly an amazing experience. The festival offers the world’s best festivals, amazing stages and production, and a massive amount of additional amenities. However, the impact it has goes beyond the attendees and workers. Needless to say, it has a huge impact on the local economy and the people of Boom. The general feedback we’ve received from the locals is all positive as the creators do an above and beyond job of making the event a pleasurable experience, offering tours and locals only events in the week between the two weekends.
Dreamville
Additionally, Tomorrowland has made huge efforts in minimizing their environmental footprint. The Camp 2 Camp program sends workers through Dreamville following the mayhem. Their task is to gather and repair uncollected equipment which is then resold. The festival also implemented a program to make their recycling and garbage containers more attractive to combat waste. The effect of this? A reported 30% decrease in waste on the ground.
The Charity
Lastly, April 16th saw the opening of the first Love Tomorrow Music & Arts school in Nepal. This school hosts 300 local children and many professional teachers who offer lessons in music, dance, art and theatre. This new initiative is an amazing example of how a music festival can have an impact on those less fortunate. We can only hope that others follow in the footsteps of Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland Winter
Although there is only one Tomorrowland (now), there is actually about to be a new addition. March 2019 sees the inaugural Tomorrowland Winter take place at the Alpe d’huez winter resort. The entire resort will be taken over by 30’000 music lovers and a variety of spectacular stages. The festival organizers have placed big hype on this event, and we’re sure it’ll live up to the wild expectations. Following this, July 2019 will see the legendary festival turn fifteen years old. With that in mind, its time for you to request time off as these two events will be phenomenal. A massive thank you to the more than 12,000 employees of Tomorrowland who make this event happen, we can’t wait to be back again soon.
