Wake me up when COVID ends; Tomorrowland 2020 cancelled.

Overnight, the Belgian government came together and made the unanimous decision to cancel all events until the end of August, which followed closely by Tomorrowland carefully announcing they are cancelling (or better yet, not going ahead with) the 2020 edition of the double weekend international music festival, which attracts over 400,000 people each weekend, in the small Belgian towns of Boom and Rumst. I'm sure you guys remember my reference to Britney Spears and her iconic 2009 meltdown, well friends, today is the day for mine.

So what does this mean for us?

As I have previously mentioned, even if the festival were to go ahead, there wasn’t a chance for us Australians to attend, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison had declared a travel ban for at least 6 months. With all flights in/out of Australia ceased, unless it’s one of the very few “mercy” flights, there is no way we could even get out of the country to attend the festival.

We are starting to see Australian airlines begin to cancel all flights departing mid/end June, offering airline credits for the cancelled flights.

For those of us who have frequented Europe in the summer, we understand that mid/end June would be considered the “peak” departure period for Australians who are undergoing Europe trips, followed closely by early/mid-July.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but I am certain the July period will be next on the airline's cancellation list.

Australians take up a large portion of attendees at Tomorrowland, along with attendees from the US. With our borders closed, and the US unable to grasp a hold of their COVID-19 outbreak, a great portion of the festival attendee’s tickets would be back up for purchase, as neither country would be able to attend. This could be problematic for the well-renowned festival’s image, as it may ultimately lead to the festival no longer being a sellout like it has been for years prior.

“So, what am I doing with my useless 2020 Tomorrowland ticket?”

Well, Tomorrowland is instantly offering your ticket to be transferred to 2021, but there are a couple of options you may need to consider rather than just taking the transfer. Neither is more right than the other, it just depends on your current circumstances on which option suits you best.

Option 1:

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you planning to attend 2021?

• Can you afford to attend 2021?

• Are you financially stable enough to not receive a refund of your Tomorrowland ticket?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then opt for what I am choosing to do.

There is a strong likelihood that Tomorrowland would have learnt from US festivals such as Ultra Miami and Coachella, and have given us the option to transfer our ticket from 2020 to 2021. This means that come ticket sales next January, I am completely sorted. And how bloody stoked am I! Because we all know how much of a shitstorm and stress buying a Tomorrowland ticket can be!

Option 2:

It’s very simple; you’re in financial hardship, your Europe summer 2020 plans have turned to shit and you need the money back in your pocket to survive, pay rent, feed yourself etc. You need a refund.

This is SUCH a peculiar situation to be in, as a pandemic has never happened in the 16 years of the festival running, so there is no history to look back on and see what they have done prior. So, my advice would be:

• Email Tomorrowland (kindly) and say our government isn’t allowing us to leave the country, you have lost your job, can they please consider issuing a full refund. Tomorrowland may offer a partial refund if you're happy to accept it, go for it, as you may get the rest of it back in the below option.

• Contact your travel insurance company (now is not the time to tell me you don’t have any). Each company has different policies surrounding pandemics, but depending on when you purchased your travel insurance will depend on the level your insurance may cover you for. You never know, they may cover a partial refund as well, and this partial refund, and potentially Tomorrowland’s partial refund, may, in fact, give you the full amount back in your pocket.

HOWEVER! Please give it some time to do so if you are desperate for a refund. There are a lot of legalities they are trying to work out, our best advice is that they will see enough people worldwide complaining about no refunds on tickets, and will eventually allow the refund option without an email sent to them.

If you are the MAIN BUYER for your Tomorrowland tickets, please monitor your Tomorrowland account for updates, and check your personal email inbox where they will further send updates to ticket holders.

If there are a few things Tomorrowland does well, its PR, legalities, and organization. I am sure that with time, they will get the hint that a full refund for this extremely strange situation is necessary for some people, and will eventually offer them.

It’s saddening to see the iconic festival come to a halt like this and with the success of their 15-year edition last year, Tomorrowland was set to take a different approach in 2020. Already we saw a full artist announcement immediately after ticket sales, something the festival has NEVER done before, and I am certain that there were a whole bag of tricks up their sleeves for their 2020 edition, however, we must ensure our health and safety comes first in these extremely challenging times, and appreciate all that the Tomorrowland organizers are doing to ensure they bring us the best festival experience for 2020, even if it’s from within our own homes.