Behind the veil: Tomorrowland 2013 before the crowdsInfo Desk Tomorrowland 2013 1

Behind the veil: Tomorrowland 2013 before the crowds

Breathtaking. It’s the only word that comes to mind when describing the Tomorrowland festival grounds in Boom, Belgium. From an American perspective, what ID&T have managed to create here is unlike anything a casual US festival-goer could imagine. The grounds are sprawling; with rolling hills of green grass and beautiful lakes that serve as reflecting pools for the countless stages and installations that populate the acreage.  Much more than just another a festival, Tomorrowland is a theme park tucked away in rural Belgium. Every aspect of the experience here has been carefully and meticulously planned, from the leather wristbands with RFID chips implanted in pieces of actual bone, to the wooden planks that line the floors of every stage. While the media focus tends to always be on its Main Stage, Tomorrowland is far more than a few flashy visual elements. Not only are the stages unbelievably impressive, but the festival’s logistics, from entry to exit, are mulled over with painstaking detail. Even festivalgoer traffic flow is overseen from a control center and directed via large LED signs spread throughout the festival. For Tomorrowland there are no corners to cut, no shortcuts to take.

Hop past the break to see the grounds before 180,000 people bring this electronic fantasy land to life.

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Welcome to Tomorrowland. Yesterday is History, Today is a Gift, Tomorrow is Mystery.

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Stop by the Tomorrowland bookstore for some light reading between your raving.

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An Eastern-religion inspired stage where Richie Hawtin and crew will perform as the M-nus stage. Sponsored by Cafe D’Anvers, the leading club in Antwerp.

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Every year Tomorrowland replaces the festival grounds usual lamp posts.

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Remember the candlesticks from last year’s mainstage? They now overlook the expansive eating area.

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Atmosphere is everything and ID&T has spared no expense with their attention to detail.

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Even the garbage cans are custom made.

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An interior view of one of the many impeccably decorated tents.

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Every nook and cranny of the festival is populated with stages. Yes, this is a small stage built inside a tunnel. We can only imagine how the acoustics will sound.

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On Saturday, this butterfly will host Superman, Batman and Ironman for Laidback Luke’s Super You & Me stage.

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Q-Dance’s stage is an iron-wrought monstrosity designed with the heavy hitting genre in mind.

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There are literally mushrooms everywhere – in all shapes and sizes. 

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Street signs line the grounds, directing the traffic of over 180,000 people.

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The numerous lakes provide a soothing backdrop to the immersive fantasy world.

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The Garden of Madness is built over a lake with real flowers in bloom and hanging throughout the tent.

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Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike show MTV the VIP pool built on top of the lake.

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The Main Stage is absolutely breathtaking. The sheer size is hard to capture. Photos don’t do it justice.

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Home to the world’s largest CO2 cannon and an innumerable amount of confetti canons, smoke machines and lighting rigs.

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We cannot wait to see the volcano erupt.

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Workers buzz around like ants putting the finish touches on the Main Stage area.

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