The biggest electronic music festival in Europe, Tomorrowland has partnered with FTX Europe, a cryptocurrency exchange, to create new digital Web3 experiences and NFTs.
The strategic partnership will collaborate with all Tomorrowland franchises, including Tomorrowland in Belgium, Tomorrowland Winter, and the digital festival Tomorrowland Around The World.
Many applications will utilize Web3 and blockchain technology, including art, music, music ticketing, events in the metaverse, and cryptocurrency payments.
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange mainly operating in the US, has announced its expansion into Europe to bring products and services to the market in a long-term effort to expand globally.
They hope to expand into other areas such as art, sports, and gaming industries, and this partnership with Tomorrowland is said to put them in the perfect position to begin.
Debby Wilmsen, the Press Coordinator & Spokeswoman, explained, “Tomorrowland’s evolution to Web3 is an opportunity to establish a deeper connection to the community and engage festival-goers with streamlined ticketing options, artists with new creative outlets, and fans with the ability to earn, collect or buy digital Tomorrowland assets.”
So how will it work?
Tomorrowland was founded in 2005 by two Belgian brothers Manu and Michiel Beers and now draws more than 400,000 visitors each year for its annual summer festival.
From being one of the first festivals to introduce cashless payments to their pandemic response, Tomorrowland has always been at the forefront of music, technology, and innovation.
Organizers created Tomorrowland Around The World in 2020 in response to the pandemic; this was the first-ever online edition of the festival and won a 2021 Webby Digital Award.
The festival has won many other awards, such as being voted the World’s Best Music Event five times at the International Dance Music Awards and UN award from Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
With a starting price of 3 SOL, FTX and Tomorrowland Winter Festival will team up for a unique activation called The Quest by FTX, encouraging festival attendees to collect the first 1,500 of 6,500 NFTs and earn an unforgettable experience.
Tomorrowland Winter will select 250 winners each day from hidden locations in the mountains, which festival-goers can scan with their wristbands to gain entry.
For three nights (3/23 – 3/25), 1,500 attendees will be able to view private concerts at a secret location.
For Tomorrowland, this is just the start; as Wilmsen explained.
“We start with our hunt at Tomorrowland winter, and we will look into other things in the future. We have some ideas about what we can do to make it easier for our fans or how we can make ticketing very transparent. We believe in decentralizing and in new technologies, and we are sure we can do very cool and innovative things with it in the future,” she said.
The impact on festivals
It will be interesting to see its impact on the music festival industry. NFT ticketing makes sense since blockchain technology is an immutable and safe ledger of digital ownership. And for festival attendees, the use of NFTs in this way is exciting.
It creates a new way to feel more involved with the festival, increasing awareness, strengthening connections, and furthering its exclusivity.
And although at present, the NFTs do not give fans a chance to govern the artistic direction, Wilmsen stresses, “maybe in the future.” We are taking our first steps into this new and exciting world.”
Michiel Beers, Founder of Tomorrowland, said, “Since day one, it’s within the DNA of Tomorrowland to never stop pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation, to create the unique experiences and important moments for our global community, The People of Tomorrow. The evolution to Web3 opens many possibilities for our endless imagination and the opportunity to tighten the bonds of our community in the coming years.”
Every sale of the NFT collection contributes 10% to the Tomorrowland Foundation. The Foundation brings education to children and youngsters around the world.
