From ideation to execution, Tomorrowland’s “Adscendo” main stage was built on-site from scratch.
Far be it from Tomorrowland to spare any expense delivering a world-class festival experience. With its first day underway, the Boom, Belgium gathering’s organizers have shared details of a larger-than life main stage for its 2023 edition, dubbed “Adscendo.”
Crafted entirely by local artisans, the structure runs 43 meters high and 160 meters wide. It consists of over 1,500 video tiles, 1,000 lamps, 230 speakers and subs, 30 lasers, 48 fountains, and 15 waterfall pumps per a press release. It took 50 days to build it, 60 performers will grace the stage over the course of the festival, and the team will spend 13 days tearing it down.
In keeping with annual tradition, the Tomorrowland 2023 main stage was “100% crafted in house” according to the same release. “From first idea sketches translated to mood boards and concept drawings to 3D-modeling and graphical assets, shaping of sculptures and manual production, the renowned creative team behind Tomorrowland has invented, drawn and brought the magical stage to life…” it explains.
Organized by ID&T, the inaugural 2005 edition of Tomorrowland was comparatively small. It only drew about 10,000 attendees, most of whom were locals. The lineup was nonetheless competitive, billing the likes of Armin van Buuren, Coone, and Technoboy on a small main stage with supporting acts on even smaller ancillary stages.
Fast forward 19 years (during two of which Tomorrowland didn’t take place on account of COVID-19), and the festival now encompasses 600 artists across 14 stages over two weekends. Attendance for the 2022 event topped 600,000 with revelers hailing from nearly every corner of the globe — and often waving their national flags above their heads on the dance floor.
Weekend one of Tomorrowland 2023 runs today, July 21, through Sunday, July 23. Weekend two starts on July 28 and wraps up on July 30. If you can’t make it there in person, watch Tomorrowland 2023 via live stream.
