Standing on the “holy ground” of the mainstage, Tomorrowland mainstay Armin van Buuren was the bearer of sad news the dance music community already knows—the festival will not unfold on the beloved turf this July. But the door has opened for the digital festival, and the video revealed what could be the virtual mainstage.
The glimpse comes about halfway through the video Tomorrowland shared on social media on Wednesday, with the king of trance reflecting on the empty festival grounds in Boom, Belgium.
“So this is where we’re supposed to be. This is the holy ground of the mainstage,” Armin says.
“This is where I am normally once a year,” he continues. “But not this year.”
Images flash of Tomorrowlands past: the crowd’s emotions, fireworks bursting from the Book of Wisdom, last year’s mainstage.
“Yeah, you can feel the energy, I guess…” Armin says. “This is the holy ground, you know, so memories have been created here.”
For anyone who has been to Tomorrowland, the memories send chills down the spine. For Armin, it was reminiscing playing on the mainstage in 2013, when he announced the brith of his son.
Armin then kneels down, touches the holy ground and plucks some blades of grass.
“Take some of this grass with me, maybe it’ll bring me luck, you know?” he says with a laugh. “I guess this grass doesn’t even know how luck it is that it’s here.”
Mainstage Preview?
That brings us to about 1:12 into the video, and what seems to be a peek at the digital mainstage. Through the woods, a massive, glowing head appears, with leaf-like elements that camouflage it in nature.
Style-wise, it is a marked departure from prior mainstages with multiple elements centered around a bigger concept. Last year and in 2012, it was Book of Wisdom. Three years ago, it was the Amicorum Spectaculum circus. In 2016, it was the Elixir of Life forest. The prior year, it was the gothic cathedral of the Secret Kingdom of Melodia.
Even in years when the mainstage had a focal figure, it was surrounded by a larger structure and theme. Two years ago, the giant seahorse of the Story of Planaxis topped off various aquatic features. In 2014, the face of the Key to Happiness had arched panels on each side. And in 2011, the face of the Tree of Life spread its roots over a mushroom and lollipop forest.
In the holy ground video, the supposed mainstage for the digital festival, Tomorrowland Around The World, is a standalone head. Of course, it could be just a fraction of the stage. On further review it might actually be a Q-Dance stage and not the mainstage at all.
While Tomorrowland has not said the head figure is the mainstage design, it is displayed right before scenes of the 2020 ‘Reflection of Love’ theme and clips of other covered stages. The same footage rolled in the digital festival’s official trailer that dropped on June 15.
‘If One Door Closes…’
Now back to Armin at the holy ground.
“So Tomorrowland, you’re not here this year, we all know why, and it saddens me that we can’t celebrate here together,” he says. “Because that’s what we all want, right? You wanna be here, you wanna celebrate the most joyous moment of summer together in unity.”
Then the DJ, who plays multiple times and not only on mainstage, points out the silver lining.
“You know, if one door closes, another one opens,” Armin concludes. “So see you at the digital festival.”
The Digital Festival: The Reflection of Love Chapter 1 takes place on July 26 and 27. It promises a “surreal environment,” “the world’s best technology in 3D-design and special effects,” and “laser shows and more on 8 new and familiar virtual stages.”
Headliners include Armin, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki. Other renowned DJs are David Guetta’s alias Jack Back, Adam Beyer, Alan Walker, Charlotte de Witte, and Lost Frequencies.
Information and tickets starting at €12.50 per day are available here.
“Can’t wait to play at @tomorrowland Around The World,” Armin captioned the holy ground video on his Instagram, “And to be part of this magical new world.”