The future of Tomorrowland Winter, who was able to “put Alpe d’Huez back on the world map” is it threatened? Launched in mid-October, the very young collective “Stop au Tomorrowland Alpe d’Huez” clearly aims to make a lasting impact on the electronic music festival “in the long term”. In the meantime, it is already threatening to disrupt the 2024 edition scheduled for March 16 to 24. The reason ? The event, which attracted 22,000 participants last winter, is “ecologically aberrant”, he judges, with supporting arguments.
“Half of the festival-goers come from the other side of the planet,” points out Sébastien, one of the members of the collective. And to ask oneself: “Is this really reasonable? The carbon footprint of flights represents several thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent.” 6,000 tonnes, according to a calculation carried out by the Extinction Rebellion movement. “By integrating all car travel, festival logistics and (over)consumption during the event, the carbon footprint is comparable to the annual value of all the villagers residing in Alpe d’Huez. It’s staggering,” says the latter on its website.
53% of festival-goers from France
The organizers, who have not yet had any exchanges with the collective, disagree with these assertions. “During the 2023 edition, 53% of festival-goers were French,” responds Debby Wilmsen, press relations manager for the Tomorrowland festival. The rest ? 27% Europeans and 20% who “come from far away”, that is to say from the United States, Brazil, Canada or Australia. They took advantage of the festival to treat themselves to an extended getaway to France or other major European cities, she assures, adding that the plane is in fact not the main means of transport.
“We have buses leaving from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Other festival-goers come by car or train. And there will be no plane next year,” adds Debby Wilsem. Not enough to convince environmental activists. “We are not against music but the mountain is no longer the place for this type of event whose model has passed,” judges Sébastien. And to insist: “There is overcrowding over the given period, noise and light pollution. Some scenes are located a few hundred meters from the Ecrins National Park, which can greatly disrupt the wildlife that lives there. »
“Reasonable and desirable mountain”
“Today the question is which mountain we want. A mountain that attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world? Or a reasonable, desirable mountain that better meets the desires of people living in the valley? », questions the young man, denouncing the “excess” of the festival.
“Organizing a festival causes nuisance and we are fully aware of this, whether in De Schorre (Belgium) or in the Alps, but we work with great respect for nature and the environment, defends Debbie Wilsem. The festival always strives to respect the authorized legal noise limit. We strive to minimize nuisance and our footprint. » Which involves the recycling of water implemented in Belgium, the treatment of waste, the “reuse of already existing places” for the different stages or “100% recyclable beverage packaging”.
“Where possible, we always choose the most sustainable and environmentally friendly solution and we also pass this on to our partners and suppliers. We ask them to sign a charter in which they undertake to always choose the most sustainable proposal,” she underlines, adding that “awareness-raising” work is carried out among festival-goers.
According to Tomorrowland, the “local” economic benefits of the event are estimated at 16 million euros, including 13 million euros for traders.