The world's iconic dance music festival to make its China debut, bringing futuristic tunes, global stars and homegrown talent to its first ever indoor stage, Wang Xin reports in Shanghai.

Tomorrowland, one of the largest and most iconic electronic music festivals in the world, is set to make its China debut with its first-ever indoor music showcase in Shanghai in November.

Named The Magic of Tomorrowland, this historic show will be held on Nov 22 and 23, bringing together a lineup of international and Chinese electronic music powerhouses. With a fusion of diverse styles, it promises to unleash the ultimate EDM (electronic dance music) storm and deliver a mind-blowing auditory experience.

Presented by Tomorrowland, Hero Esports, INS Land and Budweiser, the show will land at a newly built venue on the city's Huangpu riverside. Across two stages, audiences in China will have the chance to experience on their doorstep the same high-quality production — from sound and lights to decorations and displays — that defines Tomorrowland.

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Launched in 2005 and taking place annually in July in Boom, Belgium, Tomorrowland now stretches over two weekends and welcomes around 400,000 people from all over the world. It caters to almost all genres of electronic dance music with hundreds of renowned artists performing across more than 15 different stages.

The inaugural indoor show in China will feature a dazzling lineup of global artists. Headlining the show is the global electronic music superstar Dimitri Vegas. One half of the globally acclaimed duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Vegas is known for his explosive festival anthems and electrifying main stage energy. Vegas has headlined Tomorrowland's major festivals before, and has won many prestigious awards such as the DJ Mag Top 100.

As a commanding force in modern techno — a fast, heavy style of electronic dance music — and consistently ranked in DJ Mag's Top 100, Amelie Lens will also join the line-up to ignite a night of celebration. Lens has risen from the heart of the Belgian scene to become a global headliner revered for her powerful, driving and hypnotic sound.

The Dutch future house pioneer Don Diablo, who has also been consistently ranked among the top of DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs, will blend his own anthemic hits with a forward-thinking selection of tracks, presenting immersive, high-energy live experiences.

Among the other global artists sparking widespread discussion are Chris Lorenzo, a leading figure in UK tech house who is renowned for his signature, low-end impact and dynamic rhythmic shifts, and the Belgian drum and bass prodigy Andromedik, known for his cinematic melodies and dynamic power.

The show will also shine the spotlight on a number of acclaimed Chinese DJs, creating a musical fusion that bridges continents and cultures. Among them, Halo, Meguru and Tiger Drama made their Tomorrowland debut in Belgium this July.

In a thrilling back-to-back set that unites two female titans from the East and the West, China's fast-rising hard techno prodigy Meguru, known by local fans as the "Hard Techno Queen", will perform with a young DJ from Belgium, Amber Broos.

Halo, one of China's most prominent house music producers, is a versatile DJ bridging mainstream and underground scenes. His sound delicately blends house, progressive house and melodic techno styles, while Tiger Drama captivates audiences with his signature commanding stage presence and masterful mixing skills, generating massive buzz for brands and events.

The electrifying lineup also includes Apashe, DJ Sally and more, as well as the powerhouse trio DubVision, Matisse & Sadko, and Third Party.

Under the theme "Paperworld", the show will blend Tomorrowland's world-renowned production with cutting-edge technology and cultural artistry, inviting audiences to enjoy fantastic live entertainment and cocreate a shared journey with imagination, sound and technology.

"We are incredibly proud to bring the Magic of Tomorrowland to China for the very first time, and even more special, to debut our first-ever indoor show," said Bruno Vanwelsenaers, CEO of WeAre-One.World, the organization behind Tomorrowland, at the launch ceremony.

He pointed out that China has an incredibly dynamic and fast-evolving music, entertainment and nightlife scene. There is a growing appetite for meaningful experiences in China, which is exactly what Tomorrowland stands for.

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Dino Ying Shuling, founder of Hero Esports and INS Land, has seen a similar trend among Chinese electronic music fan crowds, and is looking to enhance cultural exchanges with the whole world and help shape the future of entertainment in China with the new show.

"As a loyal fan of Tomorrowland, I travel to the festival almost every year. Over the past decade, I have clearly seen an increasing number of Chinese audience members at the festival in Europe and that gave us the confidence to bring it to China," says Ying. "We hope to combine world-class music with cutting-edge technology, boosting cultural tourism and setting new global standards for immersive experiences."

Contact the writer at wangxin2@chinadaily.com.cn