It is official—Tomorrowland 2021 is cancelled.
Following the denial of necessary permits, or more specifically, the lack of a ministerial decree officially allowing such large-scale events to take place, Tomorrowland has been forced to cancel its 2021 iteration and bank on a successful run of their second annual digital replacement, Around The World.
Recently, the mayors of Boom and Rumst held a joint press conference wherein both government officials agreed that an event of Tomorrowland’s scale would apply undue pressure on local law enforcement and pose an overall safety risk to the public too great to adequately prepare for. Following the June 16 press conference, Tomorrowland called the event ban a “giant disaster,” though now festival organizers are softening their stance in an official statement,
“It is with heavy heart that our organization must announce that the 16th edition of Tomorrowland Belgium cannot take place in 2021. The entire team fought till the end and did everything in its powers to write a new chapter in the history of Tomorrowland. Our dream was to welcome the People of Tomorrow, who we’ve been missing for too long, to celebrate life to the fullest. But unfortunately, the local government has not given the permit to organize Tomorrowland. We keep looking positively towards the future and strongly believe that music will unite us again soon. Ticketholders for Tomorrowland Belgium will be contacted personally. Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever.”
As a small consolation to lessen the blow of this year’s cancellation, Tomorrowland’s virtual counterpart, Around The World, proved to be a decent stand-in for the in-person event last year, taking the top spot on 2020’s list of the year’s best digital events. See Tomorrowland’s official announcement below.
View this post on Instagram
Featured image: Tomorrowland/Facebook
