"By 2030, we want to be the world's most climate-friendly festival and that takes data"

Love Tomorrow, another language of communication

From that critical approach, Love Tomorrow eventually grew.

"We started looking at whether we could achieve a change in behaviour and how to approach that within our communications. Because on the one hand, we want to completely unburden people - whether they come for one day or three days - and take all the pressure off their shoulders."

"On the other hand, from a sustainable-ecological point of view, we have asked people to carpool, for example. If there are three of you in the car, you get a cheaper parking ticket. If you throw your cup in the right trash can, you get a wristband. But also eat less meat. Stuff like that."

"So, those are actually two communication languages that are perpendicular to each other. Unburdening on one side and directing a little bit along the other."

General awareness creates breakthrough

It took a long time for this idea of sustainability to gain a foothold. Even internally, because initially there were fears that subtle finger-pointing might backfire. Until 2018, when Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg politicians kicked a conscience and followed suit worldwide with her civil disobedience. Thousands of students were inspired and took to the streets for weeks to demonstrate for a better climate. The attention that went there gave Love Tomorrow the wind in its sails.

"It was initially difficult to convince everyone internally, let alone visitors. But in 2018, we were fortunate that society suddenly became aware of the fragility of our planet. Suddenly everyone realised that global warming is not a good thing for humanity. That general awareness boosted Love Tomorrow. It has allowed us to shift up a gear and, among other things, to organise a world congress in Boom between the two festival weekends."

"With Tomorrowland, we immediately want to be a kind of best case for Love Tomorrow, which for example, also devises the strategy for the De Schorre nature reserve. Actually, it is a kind of ecological watchdog that scrutinises all activities in the umbrella group WeAreOne.world. From Tulum in Mexico, to Brazil, to Tomorrowland Winter. Love Tomorrow is watching everywhere and making sure we are moving toward climate neutral."

Data in the context of sustainability, safety and comfort

And that requires a lot of data. Measuring is knowing and the data must show those efforts to reduce C02 emissions and water consumption, for example, are having an effect. But data are also indispensable in terms of safety and customer experience.

"Most people give us permission to follow them around the grounds. Using data and a heatmap, we see the crowd moving and know what zone they are in. If there is a threat of overcapacity at a certain stage, we can close it and redirect visitors."

"That cell phone tracking is harmless and also allows us to offer more comfort. At our campsite, for example, 37,500 people sleep. We build shower villages for that. Using the heatmap, the visitor can very easily see that unit B is much less crowded than unit A. A simple example, but very important for the comfort of that visitor."

Optimal deployment of garbage cans

Data are also used to optimise the placement of trash cans, for example. Together with the University of Antwerp, the company conducted research into this. It's an example Joris Beckers likes to cite during presentations.

"There are a thousand trash cans scattered around the grounds. First of all, we developed our own trash cans that look much nicer than the classic trash cans. As a result, there are 40 tons less litter on the ground alone."

"Together with the University of Antwerp, we started measuring the filling rate of those trash cans. We found that some trash cans were slow to fill, even in places where many people passed by. That suggested that visitors were not seeing the trash cans. Then, we experimented and moved those garbage cans around to see what happens."

And then, there's the commercial aspect where data adds great value. Although that could also fall under customer experience.

"Well, we're not holier than the pope. We are a commercial organisation. We have built up a lot of historical data over the years, so we are well prepared for different situations. If it starts to rain or consumption changes from soft drinks to hot drinks, for example, we can switch quickly so that our turnover on Food & Beverages does not go down. Do we then use that data to better serve the visitor? Yes, definitely, but also - sorry - to keep our business model afloat."

Festival of the future

Tomorrowland is in its eighteenth edition this year. The Love Tomorrow Conference is taking place for the third time. WeAreOne.world continues to evolve. After all, Joris Beckers, and by extension his entire crew, have a clear vision for the future. A so-called master plan.

"For two decades people have been talking about 'the city of the future.' Experts then thought about what that city should look like in terms of housing, mobility, food, clothing, forms of society, etc. We translated that blueprint into the festival of the future. So, we took as much input as possible. To the extent that we can, of course, because a festival has a temporary nature, while a city is a permanent thing."

"We have put down an ambitious plan. By 2030, we want to be the most climate-friendly festival in the world. Again, we need a lot of data for that. The more you know, the smarter you get, the more money you make and the more respectful you can be to the planet. There has to be a good balance between that. Ecology does not go without economics. If activists don't allow us to make a profit, then we can't invest in Love Tomorrow. And then we can't organise initiatives to protect humanity so we can live here for hundreds more years."

Other topics are covered in the full conversation with Joris Beckers. Be sure to let us know what you think afterwards.