The Festival Era

The 2000s and 2010s turned Belgian dance music into a global festival juggernaut — Tomorrowland in Boom, 10 Days Off in Ghent, Laundry Day in Antwerp — and the rise of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and the EDM mainstage years.

Part of The Belgian Sound

49 moments in this segment.

1. 2000 — 10 Days Off — Ghent's Vooruit marathon. 10 Days Off at the Vooruit in Ghent was a beloved ten-night summer electronic festival, intimate and adventurous in its programming.
2. 2001 — Buscemi — Belgian nu-jazz/electronica. Dirk Swartenbroekx (Buscemi) carried a Latin/nu-jazz-tinged electronica from Belgium into the 2000s.
3. 2003-06-15 — Dr Lektroluv - DJ Set @ 10 Days Off (Ghent, Belgium) 2003-07-26. From 10 Days Off — Dr Lektroluv - DJ Set @ 10 Days Off (Ghent, Belgium) 2003-07-26. (2003)
4. 2004-06-15 — Superpitcher - DJ Set @ at 10 Days Off, at Vooruit (Ghent, Belgium) 2004-07-21. From Vooruit, one of the temples of Belgian club culture — Superpitcher - DJ Set @ at 10 Days Off, at Vooruit (Ghent, Belgium) 2004-07-21. (2004)
5. 2004-06-15 — Pipco - DJ Set @ at 10 Days Off, at Vooruit (Ghent, Belgium) 2004-07-23. From Vooruit, one of the temples of Belgian club culture — Pipco - DJ Set @ at 10 Days Off, at Vooruit (Ghent, Belgium) 2004-07-23. (2004)
6. 2004-06-15 — 2manyDJs - Live @ 10 Days Off, Vooruit, Gent, Belgium - 2004-07-20. From Vooruit, one of the temples of Belgian club culture — 2manyDJs - Live @ 10 Days Off, Vooruit, Gent, Belgium - 2004-07-20. (2004)
7. 2005 — Tomorrowland begins (2005). The first Tomorrowland is held in De Schorre, Boom. Within a decade it becomes the most famous dance festival on earth and Belgium’s biggest cultural export.
8. 2005 — I Love Techno 2005 — Ghent. I Love Techno at Flanders Expo, the indoor techno festival at its mid-2000s peak.
9. 2005 — Tomorrowland — the first edition (2005). The inaugural Tomorrowland in De Schorre, Boom — the start of what became the most famous electronic festival in the world.
10. 2006 — I Love Techno 2006. I Love Techno at Flanders Expo, Ghent — I Love Techno 2006 (2006).
11. 2007 — Vive la Fête — live. Ghent's Vive la Fête on stage, electro-punk-pop energy (2007).
12. 2007-06-15 — Belgian Festivals: Laundry Day 2007. From Laundry Day — Belgian Festivals: Laundry Day 2007. (2007)
13. 2008 — I Love Techno 2008 — Ghent. I Love Techno at Flanders Expo, Ghent — I Love Techno 2008 — Ghent (2008).
14. 2008-06-15 — Simian Mobile Disco live at 10 days off 2008 Gent. From 10 Days Off — Simian Mobile Disco live at 10 days off 2008 Gent. (2008)
15. 2008-06-15 — Magda Live at 10 Days Off, Ghent (2008) | Deep Techno Journey. From 10 Days Off — Magda Live at 10 Days Off, Ghent (2008) | Deep Techno Journey. (2008)
16. 2009 — 10 Days Off 2009 — Vooruit. The 10 Days Off summer marathon at the Vooruit in Ghent, an adventurous booking policy across ten nights.
17. 2009 — Tomorrowland 2009. the festival finding its scale.
18. 2009-06-15 — Jan Van Biesen on how Studio Brussel ignored dance. From the Belgian electronic scene — Jan Van Biesen on how Studio Brussel ignored dance. (2009)
19. 2010 — Boemklatsch / the Belgian electro wave. The mid-2000s saw a Belgian electro-house wave (Lektroluv-adjacent) that fed the festival main stages (2010).
20. 2010 — Goose — live at the festivals. Kortrijk's Goose, pioneers of the Belgian live-electronic band, on the festival stage.
21. 2010 — Netsky — Belgian drum & bass. Boom’s Netsky carried a melodic strain of drum & bass out of Belgium to international stages, a different export from the big-room sound but unmistakably part of the festival generation.
22. 2010 — Tomorrowland 2010 — going global. The 2010 edition and its aftermovie began Tomorrowland's explosive international growth.
23. 2010 — I Love Techno 2010. I Love Techno late-2000s/2010, still drawing tens of thousands to Ghent each November.
24. 2010 — 10 Days Off 2010 — Vooruit. 10 Days Off, the Ghent summer electronic marathon.
25. 2011 — I Love Techno — the Flanders Expo years. At its peak, I Love Techno drew 35,000+ to Flanders Expo in Ghent, a who's-who of global techno on Belgian soil every November (2011).
26. 2011 — Pukkelpop's dance tents. Pukkelpop in Hasselt, a Belgian institution, gave electronic music its own stages and tents alongside the rock bill (2011).
27. 2011 — Tomorrowland 2011. The 2011 Tomorrowland edition at De Schorre, Boom.
28. 2011-06-15 — Nicolas Jaar Live @ 10 Days Off 2011 Ghent, Belgium (18.07.2011). From 10 Days Off — Nicolas Jaar Live @ 10 Days Off 2011 Ghent, Belgium (18.07.2011). (2011)
29. 2011-06-15 — Laundry Day 2011 - Laston & Geo - Circus Brussel - Cokeman. From Laundry Day — Laundry Day 2011 - Laston & Geo - Circus Brussel - Cokeman. (2011)
30. 2012 — I Love Techno 2012. I Love Techno, the indoor techno institution in Ghent.
31. 2012 — Laundry Day — Antwerp street festival. Laundry Day grew from an Antwerp street party into a major Belgian electronic festival.
32. 2012 — Tomorrowland 2012 — the aftermovie era. Tomorrowland's 2012 aftermovie went viral worldwide, cementing Boom, Belgium as the global capital of festival dance music.
33. 2012-06-15 — Maceo Plex | 10 Days Off | Ghent, Belgium | 20 JUL 2012. From 10 Days Off — Maceo Plex | 10 Days Off | Ghent, Belgium | 20 JUL 2012. (2012)
34. 2013 — I Love Techno 2013. I Love Techno late edition in Ghent.
35. 2013 — Tomorrowland 2013. By 2013 Tomorrowland was a worldwide phenomenon, tickets selling out in minutes across continents.
36. 2013-06-15 — 10 Days Off Day 3 with Ben Klock, Nathan Fake, Evad & Tomaz. From 10 Days Off — 10 Days Off Day 3 with Ben Klock, Nathan Fake, Evad & Tomaz. (2013)
37. 2014 — Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Brothers from Willebroek, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike rode the big-room EDM wave to repeated "world’s #1 DJ" titles and became the faces of Tomorrowland’s mainstage era (2014).
38. 2014 — Tomorrowland 2014 — 10 years. Tomorrowland's 10th anniversary drew hundreds of thousands and confirmed its status as Belgium's biggest cultural export.
39. 2014-06-15 — Loadstar – Laundry Day 2014, Rampage Stage (Antwerp, Belgium) – 06.09.2014. From Laundry Day — Loadstar – Laundry Day 2014, Rampage Stage (Antwerp, Belgium) – 06.09.2014. (2014)
40. 2014-06-15 — That's Laundry Day, baby (official aftermovie Laundry Day 2014). From Laundry Day — That's Laundry Day, baby (official aftermovie Laundry Day 2014). (2014)
41. 2015 — Tomorrowland 2015. the festival at its global peak.
42. 2015-06-15 — Laundry Day 2015 - Bougenvilla (full set). From Laundry Day — Laundry Day 2015 - Bougenvilla (full set). (2015)
43. 2015-06-15 — Laundry Day 2015 - The Soap Continues (official aftermovie). From Laundry Day — Laundry Day 2015 - The Soap Continues (official aftermovie). (2015)
44. 2016-06-15 — Laundry Day 2016 - Discobaar A Moeder @ Iwash. From Laundry Day — Laundry Day 2016 - Discobaar A Moeder @ Iwash. (2016)
45. 2017 — Dour Festival — the eclectic edge. Dour Festival in Wallonia mixed electronic, hip-hop and alternative across its stages, a key counterpoint to the mainstage EDM world (2017).
46. 2019-06-15 — Amelie Lens at Atomium in Brussels, Belgium for Cercle. From the Belgian electronic scene — Amelie Lens at Atomium in Brussels, Belgium for Cercle. (2019)
47. 2022-06-15 — FRANKY KLOECK @ LEGACY FESTIVAL 2022 30 YEARS BONZAI RECORDS INVITES WONDERFUL DAYS STAGE. From Bonzai, one of the temples of Belgian club culture — FRANKY KLOECK @ LEGACY FESTIVAL 2022 30 YEARS BONZAI RECORDS INVITES WONDERFUL DAYS STAGE. (2022)
48. 2024 — Tomorrowland — the mainstage spectacle. The Tomorrowland mainstage, the most elaborate festival stage in the world, in Boom (2024).
49. 2025-06-15 — Anyma | Live from Atomium - Brussels, Belgium. From the Belgian electronic scene — Anyma | Live from Atomium - Brussels, Belgium. (2025)