Tomorrowland Belgium is one of, if not the biggest, electronic dance music festivals to grace this planet. Which is closely followed by Sziget and Ultra. For 3 days, 2 weekends a year in July, Belgium is overrun festival and party goers from near and far preparing for one of the biggest weekends of their lives.

Getting tickets to Tomorrowland is notoriously known as being extremely difficult after having once sold out in a record time of 12 minutes, even though 400,000 tickets are released for each weekend. But this Tomorrowland Survival guide will help you get tickets to this amazing European music festival so your partying dreams can come true.

This Tomorrowland survival guide is here to give you a rundown of the grounds, the best tips and tricks for scoring yourself a ticket as well as preparing for one (or two) manic weekends.

Tomorrowland Ticket Prices and Information

General admission tickets to Tomorrowland are some of the hardest festival tickets to get your hands on, especially if you live anywhere outside of Belgium. So it is crucial to have all your bases covered when trying to purchase; whether it be that you recruit friends and family on different computers around the house as soon as the tickets are on sale, or whether you pay a little bit extra and go for more expensive options that don’t sell out as fast.

How to get Tomorrowland Tickets

There is a process which is followed in order to get Tomorrowland tickets:

• Pre-registration is required for ALL tickets (do this before December)
• Tickets go on sale in January
• Belgium get  priority and first pick of TML tickets.
• The rest of the world then has to dive into a frenzied virtual lolly scramble to scrounge for the ‘last remaining’  hundred thousand or so tickets that are left.

Tomorrowland offers a range of ticket options, from general admission, 3 days passes, and accommodation options. The best shot anyone outside of Belgium has in getting a ticket to Tomorrowland is purchasing a Global Journey Package.

Global Journey Packages are released a week before general admission which gives you an earlier chance at purchasing a ticket before trying your luck at the general admission. These Tomorrowland packages are a lot pricier than general admission but are definitely worth the investment; ultimately you are paying in a lump sum what you would collectively pay for your tickets, transport, and accommodation anyway.

Tomorrowland Global Journey Packages

• ‘Full Madness’ (3 Day) pass  into the Tomorrowland music festival
• Access to The Gathering pre-party at Dreamville on the Friday 
• Your choice of accommodation ranging from camping at Dreamville to staying in a hotel in Brussels 
• Your choice of return journey to Dreamville via bus, train or plane.
• Exclusive goodie bag (mine came with a gold deck of Tomorrowland playing cards, diary and pen, and newspaper)
• Daily news paper during the festival

Each package can be personalised to your budget; so depending on whether you choose basic camping over hotel accommodation, or a bus transfer rather than a flight will greatly dictate the price of your Global Journey Tomorrowland ticket. For Tomorrowland 2017 I went for the Global Journey package with transport to and from Eindhoven, Netherlands via bus. I chose camping in the Magnificent Greens with a tent I pre-purchased from a registered partner within the Dreamville grounds. All up this cost me just over $1,000.

Global Journey Must Knows

• These tickets are the first to be released
• You MUST have all your personal information correct on the ticket, any name changes will cost 300NZD.
• You can either have your ticket posted to your home address, or you can collect it at the front gate with your valid ID

Tomorrowland Ticket Prices

General admission I believe range anywhere from 80 euros for a single daysingle-day pass to over 200 euros for a 3-day pass. However general admission tickets are almost impossible to purchase if you don’t live in Belgium, as Belgium residents get the first pick on Tomorrowland tickets and they sell out within minutes when worldwide sales are open. This is why I purchased my ticket through the Global Journey Package.

I paid $999.65NZD for my Global Journey ticket, which included all of the 6 things listed above. My tent was a separate cost of $120 which included a thin foam mattress, blow-up pillow, and sleeping bag, which was purchased from Tentezo.
The amazing thing is that the Global Journey packages don’t sell out within seconds as Tomorrowland general admission does, so you have more of a fighting chance to attend this amazing festival.

To check out the rest of Global Journey packages head to the official website

Pro Tip – 
Make sure your card has more than enough money on it due to the conversion rate, and that your bank isn’t prone to blocking payments to offshore accounts over a certain amount of money.

For more info head to www.Tomorrowland.com

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How to Prepare for Tomorrowland Belgium

Tickets/Important Documents

PRINT EVERYTHING for Tomorrowland even if it says you can show an electronic copy. You never know when you might lose your phone, drop it overboard or accidentally factory reset it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Packing for Tomorrowland

Grab your runners/trainers/sneakers; enclosed shoes with comfortable soles and wear them until they fall apart. Forget sandals, jandals, or any sort of heel (god forbid). You will be on your feet the whole time dancing, jumping and running, experiencing different terrain, climbing hills, walking long distances, and walking through grass, mud, dirt gravel, and sand, No one cares about your footwear and won’t question you unless you are that idiot in heels, wedges or didn’t get the memo that this is a music festival and not fashion week in Milan.

Raincoats are a must, something that can squeeze into a small bag or something that you won’t mind losing. As bad as they are for the environment, the plastic single-use coats are fantastic – especially for people who still want to show off their outfits. They work great as a second warm layer because your body heat is trapped from your head to your knees, so they should keep you dry and warm!

It’s not uncommon for freebies to be given out by festival attendees, it’s a great way to make friends and share a little bit of extra happiness around.
A group of tents not far down from mine were doing free stick on unicorn tattoos for whoever was keen, and my mate was giving out cardboard kaleidoscope spectacles when looking through them made you feel like you’ve been pumped full of ketamine. 

Tomorrowland Outfits

Guys: Wear whatever the fuck you want.
Girls: Wear whatever the fuck you want.
Everyone else: Don’t judge a person based on their outfit. Their outfit does not give you the right to have access to their body, people like you are not welcome at Tomorrowland. The wackier the outfit, the more glitter, the more gems, the more do do’s THE BETTER. Don’t be afraid to channel your inner weirdo and let your freak flag fly. Even if that means bringing out your Pikachu onesie!

Your country’s flags are also a big theme when attending Tomorrowland. This is the time we New Zealanders educate the rest of the world on the difference between our flag and the Australian flag, it’s always a fun time pointing out that our stars are different and that our countries are not joined by a tunnel or a bridge. Or it is the perfect time to take the piss out of someone uneducated in the geography of Australasia and tell them that you can drive from Auckland to Sydney and that it’s a daily commute for most via sheep or Kangaroo.

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Camping at Tomorrowland

Dreamville is the official Tomorrowland campsite; with varying styles of accommodation, daytime entertainment and a Tomorrowland styled shopping hub with everything from it’s own food court to a hairdressers, TML merchandise shop and tattoo parlour. Dreamville is in a league of it’s own and never fails to get you amped up for the next 8 hours of partying.

Dreamville Accommodation

The Tomorrowland camping options range from basic camping in a tent to cabins and chalets in Dreamville. Staying on site at Dreamville in my bias opinion is probably the best way to experience Tomorrowland in all its glory; Dreamville is the official onsite camping and accommodation for Tomorrowland and is called Dreamville for a very good reason.

Once I turned up on Friday I stood in awe in front of the small marketplace that stood before me. A hair salon, make-up and jewelry studio, grocery store, bakery, jewelry store, official merchandise, bohemian-styled, market, restaurants and countless food stalls; it resembled a small township you would find just north of Auckland. Never mind the giant water fountains shaped like lit candles, grassy slopped chairs, the ‘Chill Out Zone’ with beach volleyball, and a tennis court surrounded by bean bags, hammocks, and tables and chairs paired with a small cafe.

Camping has its downfalls but it is also where you will meet, hangout with and really get to know the people of Tomorrow. You have access to some pretty good showers (considering). you get to wander through the small township of Dreamville every day and see the different surprises that Dreamville has to offer for you every day and really soak up the atmosphere. Best of all you get to see the people who also look as shitty as you the morning after partying hard for around 12+ hours.

Dreamville Accommodation,  from cheapest to the most expensive:

• Magnificent Greens (Tent not included)
• Friendship Garden (Perfect for groups of 10 – shelter provided, tents not included)
• Easy Tent
• Relax Room
• Dream Lodge
• Cabana
• Mansion

​For a closer look at the accommodation check them out here. For the two cheapest options where tents are not included I highly recommend purchasing a waterproof tent for your stay. My tent was nearly converted into a swimming pool after a night of constant rain. These can be purchased from Tentezo.

Hygiene

Showers are readily accessible at each campsite throughout Dreamville. Each section of Dreamville has a number of warm indoor showers which you pay a couple of pearls for and are only open at certain times of the day, and about 8 showers outside each section with cold water but are free to use at any time of the day (wear your swimwear for these ones). Ensure you get up early, around 7am, if you don’t want to be standing in line too long for the warm showers. And by warm I mean there is a hint of heat but nothing you would stand under for a long period of time for enjoyment.

There is no shortage of toilets. Unlike New Zealands’ infamous Rhythm and Vines New Years festival, you won’t find the toilets piled high with all sorts of human bodily fluids. The festival organizers pride themselves at keeping a clean, hygienic and environmentally friendly festival and campgrounds. 

Storage at Dreamville

Lockers are available for hire for the duration of your stay, you can pre-purchase these to secure yourself a locker. I ordered a medium sized locker which was perfect to fit my camera bag and all my valuable items. You receive a key for each locker so make sure you don’t lose it! Lockers are also available at the festival grounds.

Power at Dreamville

There are no charging ports at Dreamville (you’re at a camp site for goodness sake). But for around 5 pearls (and 15 pearl bond) you can hire a power pack which has enough energy for 1-2 charges per phone. Once it runs out you can take it back to the JBL charging kiosk and swap it for a new one without paying any extra pearls. Take it back at the end of the festival and receive your 15 pearls back onto your bracelet.

Radio Shack After Party

Radio Shack is the official radio station for Dreamville. It’s broadcasted from each tower within the campsite zones and plays music from each artist performing at Tomorrowland. Radio Shack is in the market place and the music also blasts right outside it; so if after the festival you come back to Dreamville and are still eager to keep dancing, you can meet your mates outside Radio Shack for an extra hour or 2 of music before you have to head back to your tents.

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Tomorrowland Festival

Tomorrowland Stages

There are 16 stages to engulf your 3 nights at Tomorrowland; First and foremost main stage is the one which needs to be seen; this is the stage that is renovated every year to fit with the theme. 2017’s theme was Anicorum Spectaculum and was themed around 1920’s styled circus. The stage pinnacles designed like a large red and white striped circus tent. Complete with a full sized carousel, wheel of death, tight rope walkers, dancers and more.

The main stage is centred near the Dreamville entrance, or the opposite side of the park from where non-Dreamville residents enter, and is the stage you want to be at towards the end of any night as there is a huge fireworks and light display.

Stages of 2017

Each stage has different genres of music. For example the indoor Freedom stage is mainly trance, and main stage being a mix of electronic pop and dance.

Money – Tomorrowland Pearls

This is a cashless festival; which is a good move as drunken goons should not be in control of wallets and/or lose cash. The official Tomorrowland bracelet you receive which allows you access into the festival grounds has a chip which you load money onto. As well as being cashless this European festival has their own official currency called “Pearls”; 10 Pearls is around 15 Euros. I think I spent around 200 Euros at TML 2017; which was primarily spent on croissants, water, and warm showers.

The conversion rate doesn’t make sense and I think that’s the whole point; when you’re drunk all you’re going to be thinking about is getting food, not trying to do the math on how much a sandwhich costs.

Tomorrowland Drugs

Drugs are illegal and Tomorrowland is a drug free festival. If you are caught with drugs your weekend over and the Belgium Police will be busy booking your next flight home. But it would be ignorant of me not to bring up this subject.
Even though the festival does not condone the use of drugs and has sniffer dogs, Police and bag checks at the entry to the festival; drugs are still easily accessible.

Be careful and be smart if you do consider taking pills; don’t take a whole pill of it’s your first time, or even your hundredth time. European pills can be a lot more potent than what is available in New Zealand. Stick with and look after your friends, buy bottles of water in the festival and keep hydrated by filling them up at any of the bathrooms. The last thing you want or need is to be carried out by medical staff. If one type worked for you one night, then stick with that one and don’t mix and match too much. Or you might be spending the next couple of weeks bed ridden due to excruciating headaches.

To put it simply, drugs are extremely accessible. Just be careful. 

Other Useful Information for Tomorrowland

Storage at Tomorrowland

Lockers are located at both the festival grounds and Dreamville. These are a good option if you are a photography fanatic but don’t want to be carrying around camera equipment the whole night. It’s also a good option to store warm dry clothes for the walk home at the end of the night. The lockers at the festival use codes, but the ones at Dreamville use keys, so don’t forget or lose!

Hydration and Health

This is an important one and the one that will either make or break your weekend; STAY HYDRATED the last thing you need is to be carted off due to dehydration. 

BOTTLE CAPS – Put a spare bottle cap in your bag or on your person to take into the festival with you. All bottle caps are taken off the water bottles inside the grounds for security and safety reasons. This way you can refill your bottle at any of the bathrooms and keep it in your bag. Or take an empty camel back in with you; no point filling it up before you go through security as they will ask you to empty it anyway.

WET WEATHER GEAR – Either purchase a lightweight and compact raincoat to take in with you. Or you can purchase a clear blue plastic raincoat with hood from within the festival grounds. These raincoats may look dorky in everyday life, but they are a lifesaver when you have the outfit from the Gods but it’s pissing with rain. You can still protect yourself from the wet weather but still look bomb as because everyone can still see your attire, although your face glitter may now be making friends with your shoes.

FOOD – There is all the types of food you could possibly imagine. Lines are practically non-existent due to there being so many. From burgers to Mexican dishes, to a fully operational steakhouse in the grounds there is no way you can blame your intolerance to alcohol on the fact that you had no access to food; you’re just a light weight…admit it.

Safety at Tomorrowland

For someone who wore as little as a bralette and high waisted ‘briefs’, I have never felt so safe. Maybe because everyone attending the festival knew it was an amazing opportunity and were choosing not to be assh*les. Or maybe it’s because I’m so use to the New Zealand ‘bravado’ that comes along with summer festivals and alcohol? I never once came across an intimidating situation, fights or just plain anger.

I spent most of my time sorrounding by males who all had the same goal of seeing, listening and experiencing their favourite arists music at one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Every face I saw was plastered with a smile, and other than the mosh pits at front of the stages, there was hardly any pushing, shoving or physical altercations. Tomorrowland truly is one of the happiest places on earth.

Other Amazing Festivals in Europe

Sziget, Hungary

Sziget is a music fesivtal in Budapest, Hungary which runs for 7 days straight. Sziget is hosted on an island on the Danube river and hosts a raft of local and international artists every year, with previous headliners such as Martin Garrix, Macklemore and Rihanna. The festival features not only music but art installations, entertainment like clowns and brass bands. If you camp on the island you can treat yourself to yoga classes every morning before continuing with an afternoon of partying.

Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music festival is hosted in various places around the world every year; from Croatia to Miami and Korea, Ultra Music is one of the most popular due to its multiple set ups and locations making it easily accessible for millions of more people around the world. Ultra music runs for 3 consecutive nights and is primarily a electronic dance music festival featuring various sub genres.

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