Tomorrowland 2021 Unlikely After Belgian Government Rejects Permit Application

VRT outlines three reasons behind the permit rejection. "The Ministerial Decree regarding the maximum capacity at events from mid-August (75,000 people) has not yet been published. That is why mayors can legally only allow events up to 400 people for the time being," according to a statement from Tomorrowland.

Another bottleneck is the lack of police. "If the police forces have to carry out additional identity and corona [sic] checks at Tomorrowland, then there will be insufficient capacity for their essential tasks," the festival's statement continued. "But we understand that both arguments are resolved very quickly, when the Ministerial Decree is published, and if identity checks are carried out by private security companies may be performed."

Lastly, GEMS, an advisory group handling the country of Belgium's coronavirus response, reportedly had concerns despite Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's promising summer plan for large festivals. 

The news of Tomorrowland's imminent cancellation is at odds with a statement shared by organizers on May 11th in reaction to comments made by De Croo, who asserted in a tweet that large festivals should be possible in the second half of summer 2021.

"We are delighted and grateful to hear that the Belgian Government has given a realistic perspective for large festivals in Belgium towards the end of the summer," Tomorrowland's statement reads. "This perspective is not only hopeful for Tomorrowland as an organization, but also for the more than 1500 suppliers and their staff."