It has just been announced all mass events in Belgium are forbidden until the end of August. To slow down the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible the measures will be prolonged, which means festivals like Tomorrowland, The Qontinent and Sunrise Festival are cancelled.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) already made sure events in The Netherlands would be cancelled until June 1st, but in Belgium they are prolonging the measures. This means no Tomorrowland and no Q-dance stage, which would be at the festival for two weekends and 6 days with hostings like Sub Zero Project’s Rave Into Space and one by D-Block & S-te-Fan.
“Belgium is known for its big festivals, but we’re still deciding on where exactly we’ll draw the line for the amount of visitors that makes a mass event. Soon we’ll come with an exact definition of the amount of visitors”, Belgian Prime Minister Wilmès explained in the press conference. This is why we still have to wait and see what happens to scheduled events smaller than Tomorrowland, but one of the most famous festivals in the world is now unfortunately cancelled.
This means that also The Qontinent won’t happen this year. “Today, as part of the measures to combat the COVID-19 (corona) virus, the Belgian government has banned all festivals in Belgium till 31 August 2020.Unfortunately, this means that The Qontinent cannot continue this year and we are incredibly sorry for that! We understand that this will be a great disappointment for you too. We will have to postpone our festival for a year, to the weekend of 13, 14 and August 15, 2021. One thing is certain: ‘we will break all boundaries’ to make up for this lost summer!”
READ: The Qontinent 2020 cancelled: “‘We will break all boundaries’ to make up for this lost summer!”
Tomorrowland cancelled: Mass events in Belgium cancelled until end of August due to outbreak coronavirus
So until the end of August you will not be able to visit any events in Belgium. For now, in The Netherlands events are forbidden until June 1st, but we’ll hear more about whether we will prolong these measures before the 21st of April.
You can read Tomorrowland’s full statement down below. The 16th edition of Tomorrowland will now take place in the summer of 2021: July 16-18 and July 23-25. Also Sunrise Festival has been rescheduled to 25, 26 and 27 June 2021, for which the organisation has also released a statement:
“Unfortunately, this doesn’t only affect you, but also a chain of companies and people who all do their very best to make Sunrise Festival happen each year. Just like us, they passionately contribute every year to making it an unforgettable experience. So here’s a BIG shout out to all our coworkers, suppliers, partners and artists: together we are Sunrise Festival!”
Statement Tomorrowland:
Dear World,
The People of Tomorrow has been a large, lively, and warm global community for more than 15 years. We share the same passion: listening to great music, discovering magnificent places, making new friends from all over the world, enjoying life to the fullest, and looking after each other as one big family. It makes us unique. It makes us who we are in everyday life. And it ensures that we can overcome the greatest challenges together.
Tomorrowland 2020 had all the ingredients to become one of the most outstanding editions: unseen creative ideas, brand-new indoor and outdoor concepts, an amazing lineup, and – as always – the most beautiful international crowd in the world.
Unfortunately, due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, these are exceptional times for all of us. In recent weeks, we have had a lot of consultation with the local and national government in Belgium and with a panel of international experts about the two festival weekends we are all so passionate about. It’s our mission to unite souls from all over the world, but it’s also our top priority to look after the well-being, health, and safety of the People of Tomorrow, our partners and suppliers, our neighbors, the artists, and our team.
With a lot of pain in our hearts, we have to inform you that Tomorrowland cannot take place in 2020. We understand and support the governmental order that has just been issued. The 16th edition of Tomorrowland will take place in the summer of 2021 (July 16–18 and July 23–25).
This situation is extremely hard on us all. As a community, we are sad, disappointed, and angry – but also hopeful, because we know that we are much stronger than this setback. What we started together in 2005 became a strong global symbol. We will triumph together and will continue to unite.
But first we have to ensure that the event industry overcomes this. Tomorrowland – just like all other major events – is only possible thanks to a network of hundreds of suppliers and thousands of collaborators, working for over a year toward our beloved festival. A lot of talented artists, creative companies, and hardworking and passionate people – including our own team – are now in the eye of the storm and are going through difficult times. We will need to be resilient, support each other, and be flexible to ensure there will still be an event industry at all.
Anyone who was planning to experience Tomorrowland in July 2020 will now have dozens of questions. That makes perfect sense, and we fully understand. As a general guideline, we can already say that all tickets will be transferred to Tomorrowland 2021. This is not an easy operation, but we will strive to email everyone personally within the next week and provide an update in your personal Tomorrowland account. Please also visit tomorrowland.com, where we will keep you updated about the next steps.
Despite the enormous disappointment, we would like to call on everyone again to follow their local government’s guidelines closely. Stay at home, wash your hands, and keep your distance from one another. Do it for yourself, your loved ones, and the exceptional medical staff all over the world who are working around the clock.
Take good care of each other and stay safe.
Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever.
Tomorrowland
Footage via Facebook-page Tomorrowland
