Tomorrowland Stages Its First Indoor Gig in Shanghai

Tomorrowland made its long-awaited China debut over the weekend, staging the electronic dance music festival's first indoor edition worldwide at the newly built Hero Dome in Shanghai.

The two-day event drew tens of thousands of fans to the venue, which opened this year in Huangpu District riverside.

"We aim to create unforgettable moments that bring people together, and this weekend in Shanghai is certainly one of them," said Danny Tang, CEO and co-founder of Hero Esports.

The lineup featured international DJs Dimitri Vegas, Amelie Lens, Chris Lorenzo, Apashe, DubVision and Matisse & Sadko, along with Chinese acts including Ma Siwei, Tiger Drama, DJ Sally and Halo.

Dutch DJ Don Diablo said that this event was the largest performance he has staged in China.

On Saturday night, he premiered a new collaboration with Chinese rapper GALI. Diablo said organizers had provided him with a list of possible Chinese collaborators and that GALI "stood out immediately."

"I really made a typical Don Diablo record, but mixed with his rap in Mandarin. I think that's really sort of East meets West," he said.

Belgian DJ Dimitri Vegas closed the first night with a set that included a surprise appearance by Chinese star Ma Siwei.

"Shanghai has an energy unlike anywhere else," Vegas said.

Tomorrowland's Shanghai edition also tested the festival's ability to localize production for China. Two stages were built for the event, equipped with more than 1,300 lighting fixtures, over 1,000 square meters of LED screens, and multiple special-effects systems. A 20-member crew from Belgium and the Netherlands oversaw lighting, lasers, audio and effects.

Local teams constructed the Hero Dome in five months, with the capacity to accommodate approximately 10,000 people. Stage structures, lighting systems, costumes and merchandise were all produced in Shanghai.

"The venue was built to match Tomorrowland's global standard, and this is just the beginning," said Clinton Lau, CEO of The Magic of Tomorrowland and head of Hero Esports Music Festivals.

The event came as international shows continue to return to China, where demand for live entertainment has remained strong after the pandemic.

Concerts with more than 10,000 attendees rose 84.37 percent year on year in 2024, the fastest-growing segment of the country's performance market, according to data from the China Association of Performing Arts.

"Our mission was to create a musical showcase unlike anything the city has seen, and through the combined effort of our partners, we achieved that," said Jay Lu, CMO of The Magic of Tomorrowland and vice president of Hero Esports.