Yesterday is History, Today is Gift, Tomorrow is Mystery

For the ones who know nothing about it, it’s 2 words making no sense

For the ones who have heard about it, it’s one big EDM festival

But for the ones who have experienced it, Tomorrowland is magical, a memory forever
It has come far

What started off as a 1 day festival and 1 thousand people in 2004 has become a 3 day festival with a crowd of 2 lakh plus in 2014

The Set and The Season

The festival happens in Boom (call it bo:m), a part of Antwerp in Belgium. The place is huge with 14 customised sets and you can just not be done with it. If the ‘Mainstage’ featuring best of the artists and pulling most of the crowd is surrounded by hills, the small ‘Dream Island’ having the fresh artists is in middle of a lake. Discovering the sneaky ‘Rave Cave’ when lights flash from beneath the lane on your way, entering the ‘Paradise’ indoors with dim lights and pumping energy, bumping into the isolated ‘Desperados’ at one of the ends, thinking of ‘Dim Mak’ as an amusement park with the giant wheel behind – pick a mood and there is a set for you. The sets make you smile, and when you hear the sound of water, feel the grass, see the sky blue throughout, you realise, even Nature smiles at Tomorrowland.

Say Hi to

This is my favourite part!

Who like who doesn’t land up in Tomorrowland! Right from Koreans till Americans.. from 20 years old to 50.. just by themselves, as couples, in group.. into EDM, just into music.. want to know the world, want to be in their own world.. all these people make it here!

The artists performing are again from all over.. the only common thing being, they breathe music! It was a great feeling to see Shaan, the first Indian DJ to be performing at Tomorrowland!

No matter how huge the place is, 1 lakh people can be chaos.. But here, we did not see a single outbreak in 3 long days… No signs of irritation, no signs of impatience.. People raised their voices only to cheer!

Happy faces waving their flags… You talk to some, dance with some, smile at some; only to eventually realise that music unites all like nothing else does.

Management and User Experience

For the nerds and no-nerds

1 lakh people at a time! Imagine the kind of planning which goes behind when no queue is longer than 5 minutes, no restrooms are out of order, no food is out of stock, no place is unclean.. On the last day, we were right in front of the Main Stage when it started raining.. And again, in 5 minutes, everyone on the ground, on the hills was distributed raincoats! They get the difference between showstopper and show stoppers

Not just that. Can you guess – How is it to be walking on a long wooden bridge, and noticing that there are messages carved on each log… What an adrenaline rush it is to be watching the whole of Tomorrowland from the giant wheel… How does it feel when you are having the best of the times, remember someone, don’t have a phone but spot a post-office… What it is like to lie on the grass and see the fireworks above in night.. See everyone’s wrist bands lit suddenly in middle of the last performance!

You get a map when you enter Tomorrowland.. On the map, Tomorrowland is a music festival but off the map, it is an Experience.

You don’t need to love EDM to love Tomorrow-land

Because…

Even if you have just seen it on youtube, you don’t need to be into EDM to go crazy when Armin in 2013 stepped on the stage, announced that his wife delivered a boy some hours back, dedicated his set to his son, had tears in the eyes and it started raining at that very moment.

If you have been a part of 10 year madness.. EDM lover or not.. You will witness what a David Guetta feels like to be a part of Tomorrowland since the time it has started.. You will see his goosebumps and feel that he will explode.. He’s turning the crowd crazy or the crowd is turning him crazy, you won’t be able to figure.. It’s epic either ways.

But you will be in love with EDM by the end of it

I don’t know how!

Well…

There are moments when you are at such a High that you can feel every sense of yours, know what you really are, see life in the simplest form in your head, in the best form in your sight. Something changes within, for good.

Tomorrowland gave us such moments. Indebted!

Ps:

Thank you Deepika, it wouldn’t have happened without you

Tomorrowland gang, we experienced this together! You guys have become more special now : ))