Every Tomorrowland Aftermovie – From 2005 to Now

Tomorrowland, the world's foremost dance music festival juggernaut, has evolved beyond belief since its humble, small-town beginnings in 2005.

Watch as the stages become more elaborate, the crowds multiply by thousands at a time, the aftermovies get longer (and then shorter again), the fashion sense slowly improves, and the Tomorrowland we know today gradually takes shape.

Here's a rundown of each year's epic aftermovie to showcase precisely what we mean.

2005

Before aftermovies became a recognised tradition amongst big festivals, Tomorrowland was pushing forward and making themselves know. It's strange to think that this short 3-minute video would be the beginning of a legacy which would stretch from a couple hundred (some with free tickets) to thousands of electronic fans passing through.

2006

With a tinny soundtrack, sparse crowds, and a seemingly real lack of fashion sense, it's pretty obvious we're in the mid-2000s. The characters that roam the festival have been present since the festival's debut, however compared to the Tomorrowland we now know and love, the scale of everything seems so small - even the stage seemed tiny. 

2007

Finally, we begin to see the crowds beginning to swell and we get a glimpse of the birth of the modern Tomorrowland. Although the fashion is still questionable, the energy and joy of Tomorrowland leaks through, from the gigantic stages, to the pyrotechnics and light shows. 

2008

The colour, the lights, the music - Tomorrowland is truly beginning to find its place within the festival world as a giant. The helicopter view of the site shows how the festival expanded in just three years to accommodate the growing audiences. A quick shot of David Guetta shows the lineups for this festival have been stellar since its inauguration and only seemed to grow. 

2009

A simple shot can show how the festival was now bursting at the seams with people compared to the sparse audience they'd had only 4 years previous. Here we have the outrageous costumes, the dazzling stage production with the giant masked face and the hundreds of activities to facilitate the growing crowd.

The first officially themed festival in the Tomorrowland series, we're beginning to see elements they continue even today. 

2010 

By the giant sun on stage, the themes in the beginning were beautifully simple, and in 2010 we now have the most basic version of the modern Tomorrowland. This aftermovie, unlike the ones previous, begins with the serene quality of nature, showing elegant flowers, picturesque scenes of the site with the beginnings of a basic beat performed underneath. Strange to think this is to celebrate one of the biggest electronic festivals in the world.

2011

The modern Tomorrowland was here and doing things that nobody else was doing. Showcasing some of the lineups highlights within the soundtrack, we see euphoric anthems from Avicii, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Swedish House Mafia, Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso, all regulars to the festival.

Compared to the previous years, the production value had raised considerably, with high quality cameras and interesting and cinematic angles and shots. 

2012

At 20 minutes long, the movies had started to increase in length, with the animation sequence making a comeback for the opening credits.

With over 400 artists and 180,000 guests, this was the biggest Tomorrowland yet and that is replicated in the grandeur of this aftermovie. The fashion sense is beginning to head in the right direction as well - nothing like the Coachella fantasy that is to come though. 

2013

With Armin Van Buuren arriving to his set just hours after the birth of his son, the 9th edition of Tomorrowland was something special. The animation sequence was once again used and considered one of the highlights of the aftermovie.

Brothers Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, who are regulars at the festival construct the perfect soundtrack to the 30-minute video which ebbs and flows, giving you a well rounded view of festival life at Tomorrowland. 

2014

There is a true sense of escape and euphoria in this video compared to any of the others. Much like the serene tranquility of the aftermovie of 2010, the video juxtaposes the trance style dance music with the images of flashing lights and large crowds. This aftermovie does a great job of transporting you to another land: Tomorrowland.

2015

Now the giant, magnificent beast it is today, it's incredible to see how the festival grew in such a short amount of time to one of the most sought after and celebrated festivals in the world. The best part of this video has to be the spectacular firework show that Tomorrowland puts on as the grand finale every year (head to 13:50 to take a peak).

2016

Now their reputation was established, the aftermovies became another way the festival could celebrate everything they had achieved to get to that place.

Labelling those present as the 'People of Tomorrow' the festival goers were now bringing in the festival attire we know and love today -  flower crowns, crop tops, flags, large circular glasses, and bandanas. The wide shots give you a real glimpse of the magnitude this festival has become. 

2017

Moving back away from a serene, triumphant style, we're heading into the high energy, fast paced shots with people singing and dancing in the sun. The shots of people on shoulders, the incredible stage and the intense lineup show how this festival is pretty unbeatable when it comes to production. 

2018

The animations have vanished and we are seeing this fast paced, high energy permeate through the overhead shots of the campsite. It is incredible the diversity of the people, all dancing together, with incredible shots of the food.

Tomorrowland's main goal with these aftermovies is to entice you to come (or return) to the festival, showing you the complete immersive nature. You are swept away for the weekend and it's pretty extraordinary how far they can take you. With the underwater theme, Tomorrowland was really looking for the next new thing - miles ahead of any other festival. 

2019

2019's festival was the biggest yet. With 15 wonderful years of creating surreal, immersive, show stopping, incredible memories, they wanted to celebrate with a bang - and they surely succeeded.

Shots of the 'People of Tomorrow' include them looking euphoric, hands raised to the sky, eyes closed as Kölsch's 'AC1609' plays. This is a place where people come together to celebrate their love of music and this video is the epitome of that joy.

2022

What. A. Return. Making up for lost time, the Belgian giant returned for three whole weekends welcoming more than 600,000 fans back into their magical world. What better theme for this landmark occasion than 'The Reflection of Love' – celebrating the opportunity to come together once more.