After two years of absence, the Belgian festival Tomorrowland is back all in glitter and magic

In extravagant costumes, covered with fishnets and sequins or in matching colorful Hawaiian shirts and bobs, festival-goers honored the magical decor of the electronic music festival Tomorrowland at the opening on Friday. They discovered a scenography mixing the world of Disneyland and that of Jules Verne under a bright sun and mild temperatures. All installed on the De Schorre estate, in the province of Antwerp (Flanders).

Created in 2005 by two Flemish brothers passionate about electronic music, Tomorrowland has become one of the three or four most important festivals of its kind in the world, the biggest in Europe. For this edition, which comes after the complete end of health restrictions, some 600,000 people from more than 200 countries are expected over the three scheduled July weekends, compared to two traditionally. The extension must make it possible to absorb the losses due to the cancellations of 2020 and 2021.

“Tomorrowland is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been vaccinated three times. Even if I get Covid, it’s worth it”, explains Savannah de Barros, a 24-year-old woman from South Africa who came with her boyfriend. Despite the resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Belgium in recent weeks, masks remained rare. Many participants said they felt protected by the vaccine.

“If the festival-goers or our colleagues feel sick, we tell them to stay at home. But it’s a normal festival, there are no restrictions. We can party, kiss, we’re just really happy to be here again”rejoiced with AFP the spokesperson for the festival, Debby Wilmsen.

Joshua Matthews, 23, traveled from Perth, Australia. “It’s amazing. We’ve been in lockdown for two and a half years, we’re among the first people to come out (of the country). We came here specifically for the festival,” declared the young man to AFP, believing to have lived the “best experience of a lifetime”.

Coming from London to join friends who arrived from Barcelona, ​​Adria Mallada, 27, was also delighted to be able to party again, without restriction: “We were vaccinated for this reason. We will see over time, but for now we will enjoy and return to our normal life”.

On the first day of the festival, the crowd, sprinkled with flags from all over the world, crowded in front of the huge main stage, where German DJ Robin Schulz performed, offering the excited spectators a show as futuristic as the sets. In closing, the American group Major Lazer mixed for more than an hour, under the fireworks.

Despite a high price – at least a hundred euros for a day, without camping – the dense program won over the public. The next few days will see other big names in techno and electronic music, including Martin Garrix, Paul Kalkbrenner and the Belgians Charlotte de Witte and Los Frequencies.

Official Tomorrowland Music Festival 2022 Trailer: