With Tomorrowland set to kick off its ninth chapter in just a few hours we decided to give you a complete round up of the history of the festival, since its humble beginnings to being the roaring success it is today!
Tomorrowland is an outdoor dance music event organized by the Dutch company ID&T. On the basis of a fairytale inspired design creating a unique, fascinating and magical experience, the event takes place annually in the summer at De Schorre National Park, Boom, Belgium.
Vibrant, dynamic and highly charged, the festival has been described as “a trippy technicolour fantasy”, and has accelerated itself to be the helm of electronic festivals in Europe. With 20 stages, fairground rides, an idyllic lakeside setting, and some the most breathtaking stage and ingenious stage decorations ever envisioned, Tomorrowland has definitely become one of the most highly anticipated events in Europe each year.
Ever since its inception in 2005, the meteoric growth of Tomorrowland has had every true dance music fan in the world caught in awe. In a period of 8 years, what began as a small, one day festival in the town of Boom, Belgium has quickly become the largest dance music event on the face of the planet.
For 2013, the festival has grown to over 180,000 visitors from an immense variety of countries from across the globe.
Hit past the break and take a look at the Tomorrowland experience and its development over the last eight years before this years madness begins, from then to now!
Humble Beginnings
The now whale-sized festival’s first two years were modestly-sized with only 10,000 and 15,000 attendees respectively, but by the third instalment, after word of mouth had spread, the crowd swelled to approximately 50,000 people and the festival occupied two full days in Boom. In the early years, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta and Paul van Dyk led the charge of headliners and were accompanied by the likes of Sander Kleinenberg, Roger Sanchez, Push, Bob Sinclar, Coone and more.
2005
The first edition of the festival took place in 2005 on Saturday, August 14. Some big names were: Push (MIKE), Armin Van Buuren, Sasha, Sven Vath, Technoboy, Coone, Ferry Corsten and the festival boasted of an attendance of 10,000 attendees.
2006
On Sunday, July 30, 2006, the second edition of the festival was held. Famous names which were included were, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Fred Baker, Bob Sinclair, Axwell, Ruthless, Marco Bailey. The DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold was also announced on the poster, but canceled at the last moment, he was currently on tour with Madonna at that time. The attendance at the festival increased to 15,000 attendees.
2007
As part of the third edition in 2007, the festival was held on Saturday 28 and Sunday, July 29. Notable acts who formed part of the lineup were Roger Sanchez, Paul van Dyk, Sander Kleinenberg, Steve Angello, Markus Schulz among others. Attendance saw a mammoth rise this year with the festival garnering an incredible 50,000 attendees.
2008
In 2008 the festival took place on Saturday 26 and Sunday, July 27. In its 4th edition, Tomorrowland for the first time boasted of more than 100 DJs who enthralled each one of the 50,000 visitors. Some of the biggest acts included Deadmau5, Carl Cox, Fedde Le Grand, Showtek and Above & Beyond.
2009
Possibly the watershed year for the festival, it sold out and almost doubled in size compared to the previous year. It was also the year that the ‘Main Stage’ really got out of hand; the size, the fountains; the entire setup was certainly inspiring, coming to life at night with astounding lights and lasers.
Notable acts at the 5th instalment included Laidback Luke, Afrojack, Martin Solveig, Armand van Helden, Sasha & John Digweed and more. This year saw a marked increase in attendance and boasted of a staggering 90,000 attendees.
2010
The summer of 2010 became the summer of Tomorrowland! Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta broke chart records and were responsible for a mass hysteria lasting two days and even longer. Tomorrowland sold out days before the event. The festivals lineup boasted of artists like Swedish House Mafia, Richie Hawtin, Hardwell, Mark Knight, Dirty South, Loco Dice, Gareth Emery, Dada Life, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Chuckie and other bigwigs. Attendees at this instalment were to the tune of 120,000.
2011
Only a few days after the official pre-sale of tickets kicked off, Tomorrowland was completely sold out. The festival for the first time extended to 3 days instead of 2. Notable acts: Kaskade, Seth Troxler & Bill Patrick, Fedde Le Grand, Coone, Green Velvet. This instalment saw 180,000 attendees have the time of their lives.
2012
Come 2012 the number of attendees once again swelled up to 180,000 people from all over the world. Headlined by Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Sebastian Ingrosso, Avicii, Hardwell, Fatboy Slim, Skrillex, Porter Robinson and more, 2012 set new standards for festival production with its unbelievable ‘Main Stage’ that was based a fantasy bookcase.
The 2012 after-movie set a new standard for festival after-movies with over 20-minutes of professional grade cinematography. With 82 millions plays and counting, Tomorrowland 2012’s Aftermovie is the most watched electronic music related video of all time.