A Tomorrowland on every continent

Every summer 180 000 dance fans from all over the world descend on the town of Boom near Antwerp to lose themselves in Tomorrowland’s fairyland of popular dance music. Last year 25 additional flights were scheduled to accommodate festivalgoers from as far afield as Moscow, while a ‘Belgians first’ arrangement had to be introduced for the sale of tickets in an attempt to keep the festival from being so inundated by music lovers from elsewhere that local visitors fail to find a ticket. To meet the overwhelming demand from abroad, the festival organisers are now thinking about hosting the festival at locations across the globe. “It’s our ambition to organise a Tomorrowland on every continent,” the two organisers and brothers Michiel and Manu Beers said in De Tijd. “We receive requests for versions of Tomorrowland from all over the world each week. From rich Russians and Indians to promoters in Australia, the US and South America. We will do it, but on our conditions, and only in places where we feel comfortable.” To cope with a more international setup, the brothers have added ten additional staff members to their business, ID&T. “Creating a festival like Tomorrowland is complex,” says Manu Beers. “It’s a matter of building a city in three days and creating a total experience; complete with restaurants, bakeries and hamburger stands. Every detail counts. Relocating an entire factory of activity to another country is a damned difficult task. We want to do it well, so we are not committing ourselves to a date.” Tomorrowland has received numerous awards and the brothers have often been approached to sell their goldmine, including an offer from the founder of Live Nation, Robert Sillerman. But they did not accept the offer. “Why should we sell? It’s our passion”, they comment.