De Schorre is a 75-hectare provincial recreation domain in Boom, Belgium, about 16 kilometers south of Antwerp. Built on the site of former clay extraction pits, the park was purchased by the Province of Antwerp from the town of Boom in December 1986 and today offers fishing, water sports, playgrounds, sports fields, and mountain biking trails for local visitors year-round.
Beyond its everyday recreational use, De Schorre is best known worldwide as the home of Tomorrowland, one of the largest electronic dance music festivals on the planet. The festival has taken over the grounds nearly every summer since its first edition in 2005, transforming the quiet Antwerp-province park into a temporary city of elaborate stages and stage design for hundreds of thousands of fans. Tomorrowland’s in-person edition at De Schorre was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, replaced by digital “Around the World” broadcasts, before the live festival returned to the park in 2022.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Boom, Antwerp Province, Belgium
- Type: Provincial recreation domain / festival grounds
- Opened: Acquired by Antwerp Province in December 1986
- Size: 75 hectares (about 185 acres)
- Capacity: About 200,000 per weekend (Tomorrowland)
- Famous for: Hosting Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival most years since 2005
From Clay Pits to Festival Grounds
Before it became a recreation domain, the land now known as De Schorre was used for clay extraction. After the Province of Antwerp acquired the site from the town of Boom in December 1986, it was redeveloped into a public park with ponds, nature areas, and sports facilities, including football pitches, a field hockey venue, and a skate park.
The park also hosts other public events throughout the year, including the Sparticus Run obstacle course, held since 2012, and the Theater aan Twater festival each May, though it closes to the public for roughly 13 weeks each summer while Tomorrowland’s stages are built and dismantled.
Building a Festival Legacy
Since Tomorrowland’s debut in 2005, the festival’s organizers have left permanent additions to De Schorre even after the crowds go home, including the One World Bridge in 2014, an artist-built troll forest in 2019, and the Stairway to Unity mosaic installation in 2022. The run was interrupted in 2020 and 2021, when Belgian authorities and organizers cancelled the in-person festival because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Tomorrowland instead streamed virtual “Around the World” editions before returning live to De Schorre in 2022.
At full scale, Tomorrowland draws around 200,000 attendees per weekend and roughly 400,000 across a full edition, filling the park with more than a dozen stages. The 2025 edition made headlines when a fire destroyed the mainstage days before opening, but organizers rebuilt in time for the festival to go ahead as scheduled.
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De Schorre FAQs
What is De Schorre known for?
De Schorre is a provincial recreation domain in Boom, Belgium, best known as the permanent home of the Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival, which has been held there most years since 2005.
How big is De Schorre?
The park covers about 75 hectares (roughly 185 acres) of land that was once used for clay extraction before being redeveloped by the Province of Antwerp.
Has Tomorrowland always been held at De Schorre every year?
Almost. Tomorrowland has taken place at De Schorre nearly every summer since 2005, but the in-person festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizers streaming digital “Around the World” editions instead before the live festival resumed at De Schorre in 2022.
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Photo: LucT / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.