Tomorrowland says goodbye to 2020 with a new “more interactive” digital edition

Brussels, Dec 28 (EFE) .- The coronavirus truncated in July the celebration of Tomorrowland, the electronic music festival, and forced its founders to reinvent the event in the digital sphere. After its virtual premiere this summer, this format is back on New Year's Eve with an edition with more interactivity with the public.

"I'm proud to say that 'Tomorrowland 31.12.2020' is a few steps ahead of the summer digital festival," Michiel Beers, co-creator of the musical meeting that gathers in Belgium every July a whopping half a million spectators from all over the world, told EFE. world.

With David Guetta as headliner, the virtual edition that will say goodbye to 2020 will be a "more interactive" audiovisual proposal for the participants, Beers says, an experience that is halfway between cinema, music and video games.

"We have developed an application that you can download on your phone if you want to do interactive things with people so that the experience is as pure as possible," says the co-founder.

Among the glittering stars that will play at the end of the year event are Major Lazer, Armin van Buuren, Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Charlotte de Witte and Meduza, whose performances were recorded last November in Boom, a Belgian town that hosts the festival since 2005.

NAOZ will be the imaginary venue for this edition - in which Hip-Hop legend Snoop Doogg will also participate - which is designed with the latest technologies in 3D, video production and special effects.

“We have not stopped working since August. We did many tests to choose the best cameras, create new effects, make things more realistic, improve the interaction between people and create crazier environments ”, explains the person in charge of the event.

Spectators will be able to navigate through four virtual stages (The Melodia, Atmosphere, Planaxis and Pulse), which they can access from any computer, smartphone or tablet.

The organization has adapted the broadcast to 27 different time zones so that the last night of the year dance to the rhythm of DJs "from New Zealand to Hawaii" in a date that will run from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

"THE REAL FESTIVAL IS IRREPLACEABLE"

Despite the efforts of its organizers to create something "special, beautiful and unique" through the screens, Beers recognizes that the real experience of the macrofestival is "absolutely" irreplaceable and hopes to reunite the public in front of the stages "in summer 2021 ".

To make this possible, he is holding talks "at the highest level" with the Belgian government to consider the viability of the project next summer, but remember that everything depends on how the health crisis evolves.

"In about three months we will know what will happen, but now it is too soon," adds Beers, who is confident that the end of the current situation "is near" to soon organize the legendary festival again.

Despite the fact that both projects, the real one and the virtual one, “cannot be compared”, Beers predicts a promising future for digital concerts, something “unthinkable” a year ago, and maintains that they will find “their own way” in the world post-pandemic if done "at the right time and with the right artists."

The cancellation of Tomorrowland in April did not catch the team by surprise, previously they had to cancel the winter event that is held in March in the Alps, although it was a severe economic blow: "We lost 95% of the turnover of the year" .

Fortunately, the virtual summer format, 'Tomorrowland Around the World', managed to add a million viewers, balancing income and expenses, although without obtaining “great benefits”.

On December 31, Beers hopes to attract at least a million people, but clarifies that the reality of digital festivals is that "60% of tickets are sold the week before" the event.

Clara Gamez