Residents of Boom, Belgium, are turning the annual Tomorrowland festival into a notable source of extra income, a local survey has found.
Locals can earn hundreds or even thousands of euros by providing drinks and accommodation to the tens of thousands of visitors who arrive for the event each year.
The Reetse Veteranen Vrienden football club from nearby Rumst has run a drinks stall near Tomorrowland’s Dreamville campsite for several years. “Lots of people pass by here looking for a refreshing drink with extra ice cubes,” said club chair Patrick De Maeyer. Over the festival’s two weekends, the stall brings in around 3,000 euros. “That allows us to pay for our football pitch, wash our shirts and repair our two large mascots,” De Maeyer added.
Other residents are capitalising through short-term rentals. A Boom couple, Karen Depaepe and Tom Provost, listed a six-person room with breakfast for 900 euros per night. “It’s the first time we’ve done this,” Depaepe said. “We have lots of friends in the neighbourhood who also rent out rooms, and they’ve all had positive experiences so far.” Provost noted that their three rooms were booked within a day of appearing on Airbnb, and the couple plans to use the earnings for a holiday. Separately, a Rumst resident offered his garden as a campsite for around 500 euros for the weekend.
Weekend two of Tomorrowland 2026 is now underway, though the festival has confirmed that large-scale fireworks and extensive pyrotechnics will be absent this year due to a wildfire risk warning from the Belgian government.
