“It’s not about where you’re from it’s about having a good time and listening to awesome music.”

“When a moment becomes a memory, it can last for an eternity.”

“The unity experienced here will radiate around the globe.”

“ALAN!?”

“STEVE!?”

All of the above are words I heard spoken around me during the fantasy that was Tomorrowland. Just to put this into perspective for you, there were more flags in the crowd than the Olympics, and wherever you put your ears, you heard languages that were always foreign but when you looked around, every single person was singing along to the same songs you were. This festival is about the experience as a whole. The music, the stages, the food, the art…everything had it’s place at the festival to create this entirety of perfection that encompassed people from every corner of the world.

How do I even begin? It’s taken me a solid week of being home to even think about controlling my emotions enough to start writing this, now here I am a month after being home and I still can’t find the words to express the magnitude of this festival. Tomorrowland is one of those once in a lifetime experiences. The level of difficultly to get tickets for yourself is unlike any other festival. I’ve tried for the past 3 years with no luck and without hesitation I tried again this year, and got them. It was like I had just won the lottery. This festival sells out in minutes; two weekends in minutes. Thousands and thousands of tickets are spread across the globe bringing people from every country imaginable together to experience the wonder that is Tomorrowland.

Tomorrowland is equipped with around 14 stages.

Think about that for a second, 14 stages.

How could one human possibly see every stage, every artist, it’s impossible. But the thing about Tomorrowland is you don’t even care. You will eventually wander over to each stage throughout the weekend, and you’ll probably discover some new talent playing on whichever stage you stumble into. Each unique stage was drenched in decoration. The main stage alone included a giant watermill, huge clock-like ornaments with eyes and the notable Tomorrowland face that graced us with it’s huge batting eyelids and an overwhelming stare that felt like someone watching over us as we partied away into the night.

Hearing a DJ play 3 seconds of a song followed by the screams of thousands of people around you is goose bump worthy. When you look down at your Tomorrowland bracelet, the two LED lights begin flashing, look behind you up the hill and you can see thousands of little lights all flashing in synchronization. This is what is so special about Tomorrowland. The amount of people from different cultures, countries, backgrounds and races all come together to experience and enjoy dance music and we all become synchronized by these little bracelets.

Dreamville was like the icing on top of the slice of heaven already brought to us by Tomorrowland. Thousands of people all camping together, waking up together, eating together and just living and enjoying each day together. Dreamville radio was always on air, the bakery was always full of fresh bread and other goodies, the market always had a line up out the door of people who didn’t bring enough food to camp with (this was me, I didn’t even bring water…idiot) and the hair salon was always full of girls getting flowers strung in their hair. This little village had everything you needed to survive the weekend and more

Just when you think ID&T had thought of everything, you wake up in the morning and unzip your tent to find a daily Tomorrowland newspaper with two ice-cold water bottles waiting for you. Seriously? Were these placed here by some magical water fairies? It was perfect to wake up to. Dreamville really had their minds in the right place when considering trash and recycling. When you purchased a beer you paid the price of the beer plus 1.5 tokens as a deposit. When you’re finished your beer, bring the cup back to either get your deposit back, or switch for a new cup of beer! Brilliant. There wasn’t a single plastic cup lying around on the grass in our Dreamville area and if there was, it was picked up by the Tomorrowland cleaning crew who were working non-stop to make sure the place was spotless.

There were no huge fights at Tomorrowland, no deaths, no accidents, just pure enjoyment from every attendee. Why is this? I believe it’s a mixture of things but the heaviest ingredient would be the idea that everyone who’s there is so thankful to be there. When you’re thankful for something, positive things start happening. Because tickets are so hard to come by, everyone who gets the chance to go feels like they’ve won the lottery. People make entire trips around the world that focus on this one weekend; it’s the purpose of the whole trip. This is why everything runs so smoothly. No one there is taking advantage of anything because no one feels entitled to be there. (Except maybe Deorro) We were all given the opportunity to experience the world of Tomorrow and we will all be damned if anyone ruins that with a negative attitude.

One of my favourite sets from the weekend was Oliver Heldens at the Blue Flame stage on Friday. This was one of our first sets to see and it was enclosed in this tent that reminded me of an oven. One door in, one door out and sweltering heat escaping from any tiny crack in the tent possible. Hundreds of sweaty people all crammed inside to witness “Gecko” being played live. It was worth it.

The “Rave Cave” was a little nook in the side of a hill that held about 50 people, crammed with a tiny DJ set up at the back. It was exactly what it sounds like, a Rave Cave.

Food at Tomorrowland I was expecting to be super expensive and terrible quality. Actually quite the opposite. I managed to survive the entire weekend of festival food and I’m proud to say majority of it was watermelon and pineapple, and beer. They had so many different options catering to all taste it was always exciting to pick what we were going to try next.

There were so many different genres of electronic music at Tomorrowland it was impossible to get bored. One thing that made it so special was the amount of back-to-back performances; and sometimes they were completely unplanned. The final night Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike were playing the Smash The House stage and by the end of their set they were joined by Hardwell, Martin Garrix, W&W and Blasterjacks. The 8 of them on stage looked like they were having way too much fun. It felt like we were just a huge crew of friends all partying our faces off. The best part was looking up and seeing how much fun the DJs were having together. It’s like every DJ who was friends with another found their way backstage of each other’s sets and would pop out whenever they wanted to. It’s like Tomorrowland was a big collision of friends all leaving the real world for a weekend and escaping to Dreamland.

Showing gratitude for your life and your experiences allow more to flow your way. The People of Tomorrow continuously feel gratitude for the chance to be at this festival, which creates this positive energy flow from stage to stage, from Dreamville to the Rave Cave, from the Tomorrowland Bridge to The Love Chapel. The 10-year celebration of madness was one I will never forget. ID&T have taken my vote for best festival masterminds. Every single detail was remembered and every single experience was taken into consideration. This once in a lifetime festival is something to experience for everyone who loves coming together with strangers and leaving as family. Music festivals bring people together. Tomorrowland creates a unity, which becomes a monumental experience that will forever be a memory, lasting eternity.

Tabitha | Sounds of Asteria

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