Tomorrowland 2018 review: believe the hype about this bucket-list edm festival

Barney Henderson 26 July 2018 7:48am BST > Superstar DJs, hypnotic stages and Las Vegas-inspired B-EAT sessions Tomorrowland has quickly established itself as Europe's leading

electronic dance music festival, becoming bigger, bolder and fantatsically lavish as a result. Now in its thirteenth year, the festival, spread across two weekends in the appropriately named

Belgian town of Boom, has gone from giving away free tickets in an attempt to fill up the stages to selling out entirely within 30 seconds, and next year will see the inaugural Tomorrowland

Winter festival in the French Alps. The first weekend of this year's event featured some pulsating performances across 18 stages of house, techno and trance music, with headline acts

such as Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki and Alesso. Alison Wonderland and Charlotte de Witte gave afternoon sessions that had the more laid-back daytime crowd on

their feet. There were also a variety of other music genres on offer, such as performances by rapper French Montana and Dua Lipa, the 22-year-old British pop sensation, who packed out the

STMPD RCRDS stage.  Throughout the weekend, DJs and fans paid several moving tributes to Avicii, the Tomorrowland stalwart, who died in April. During Nicky Romero's set on Saturday

afternoon, the crowd unfurled a huge Swedish flag with a picture of the star on it, while the main stage united in a rendition of Wake Me Up during Axwell & Ingrosso's set. As

Tomorrowland has expanded, so too have the dining options and festival activities. You can book three-course meals, yoga sessions or group fitness classes to recover. The B-EAT sessions,

next to the main stage offer festival-goers the chance to combine fine dining with an intimate and fun DJ set. Inspired by the Las Vegas nightlife scene, each immersive session involves a

leading chef preparing a 4-course tasting menu in an open kitchen alongside a top DJ, with both getting up on the stage - or is it the kitchen counter? - to entertain the crowd of a couple

of hundred people. Chefs at B-EAT this year include Masaharu Morimoto, the chef and owner at Morimoto Las Vegas, and Christophe De Lellis, executive chef at Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand,

serving dishes as varied as turnip ravioli with lobster and honey vinaigrette to foie gras with a carrot and chamomile jam, lemon gelée and cilantro oil. The stereotype of Tomorrowland

attendees - either das crazy European ravers or those only there to be seen - has some justification. But the atmosphere, unlike some festivals in the UK, was friendly and unthreatening

throughout: everyone fully subscribing to the event's slogan - "live today, love tomorrow, unite forever". Many festival-goers were wrapped in the flags of their home

countries flags, making the crowd a sea of united nations - there were even one or two Union flags. One of the joys of the festival is to wander aimlessly between the seemingly never-ending

stages, all of them uniquely designed, kitsch masterpieces. There was the burning spine of a dragon slithering across one of the many lakes, with its smoke and fire-breathing head looming

over a stage, or waterfalls cascading downwards and upwards, spraying water and mist to cool off revellers in the midday sun. The two main indoor stages have amazingly hypnotic laser and

light shows, enhancing acts such as Fatboy Slim and Tiësto. However, the best was saved for the mind-bending main stage. > This is for you @Avicii, forever in our hearts! > 

🙏🏽❤️#TOMORROWLAND pic.twitter.com/dFErcN9rPv > — J O A N A (@Faria_024) July 21, 2018 There isn't often much to see when watching DJs performing live - with the exception of the

polarising performance from Salvatore Ganacci, the Bosnian-born Swedish DJ, who complimented his mixing with high kicks and martial arts (make your own mind up after watching this clip). But

Tomorrowland's main stage is a thing of gaudy wonder: Loyal to the 'underwater world' theme, jellyfish, rays and mermaids on screens and water features pulse to the beats,

while swathes of chameleon-esque lights, co-ordinated fireworks and lasers bring the naturally-formed stadium sized bowl truly to life, day and night. This bucket-list festival for dance

music lovers certainly lives up to the hype. _Tomorrowland weekend 1 was on July 20-22, weekend 2 is July 27-29 www.tomorrowland.com_ _B-EAT sessions are €35_