Two of our challenges live for testing at Tomorrowland 2024

Festivals, Flanders, and Innovation: A Perfect Match

Flanders boasts a unique array of festivals that attract an enormous influx of visitors. Each festival works hard to curate the best line-up and integrate the latest technologies to optimize the visitor experience. Iconic festivals like Tomorrowland constantly seek out the newest innovations to tackle major challenges, such as waste sorting and efficiently managing large crowds to ensure everything runs smoothly. In September 2023 EntertainmentLAB was announced, an innovation program set up by Startup.Flanders. This program is founded on the belief that collaboration between startups and large companies like Telenet and Brussels Airport can offer new solutions to these challenges. In fact, EntertainmentLAB's ambition extends beyond merely providing new solutions for Flemish festivals:"Festivals actually reflect certain challenges that we also see in a broader societal context," according to EntertainmentLAB.

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EntertainmentLAB

In September, it was still a distant dream, but this weekend it becomes reality. Beyond Ordering, Neurogreen, and Outsight are testing new solutions at Tomorrowland together with Brussels Airport and Telenet. Through the EntertainmentLAB program, they worked together on the new solutions being tested today.

"It's quite a challenge, because Tomorrowland isn't considered one of the best festivals in the world for nothing. You can't just test any solution here."

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Sort, Recycle, Repeat

In the world of international festivals, proper waste sorting poses a specific challenge. Visitors from diverse backgrounds, each accustomed to different sorting methods. How do you ensure correct waste separation? This is a challenge that Brussels Airport also faces daily at the country's largest airport. That's why they decided to seek solutions together with Beyond Ordering and Neurogreen. The solution now being tested at Tomorrowland consists of smart bins that maximize efforts to encourage people to sort correctly. An AI-driven system tells users within seconds how, where, and why waste should be sorted.

“For Brussels Airport, innovation is very important in order to always provide the best possible service and a pleasant passenger experience and working environment. Through EntertainmentLAB, we were able to work with startups to support them in developing an innovative solution to encourage circularity & recycling, and create more environmental awareness. The airport and the festival are both places with a very international audience and where many people gather. It is important to inform and encourage them to recycle and to be mindful about waste, and to create a fun experience while doing so. We are looking forward to see the reactions to and the results of the Smartbin solution Beyond Ordering & Neurogreen came up with and will potentially test the solution in our airport terminal as well.”

- Karen Dams, Strategy and M&A Manager

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“Beyond Ordering and Neurogreen have joined forces through EntertainmentLAB to revolutionize waste management at events.  Packaging, whether with or without a financial deposit, is an integral part of the customer journey when buying a drink or snack at a festival or event. Initially, QR refund was introduced to handle the paybacks of deposits. Our Smartbin Solution took this to a next level, by combining intelligent waste recognition with community incentives. By partnering with Brussels Airport, we're demonstrating how our adaptable technology can transform recycling practices and promote environmental awareness across real and diverse environments, addressing challenges for both visitors and waste management teams as well as among a broad international audience.”

- Wouter van Hauwermeiren, Beyond Ordering | Carlos Kiala, Neurogreen

Communication 2.0

The experience and safety of festival-goers are always central to festivals. Good communication to the festival-goers is a crucial part of this. Communication is something Telenet excels at. Relevant communication, of course, starts with relevant data. That's why Telenet decided to collaborate with Outsight, a startup that can measure crowd density in a given area in an innovative and smart way using a LiDAR system. These are not traditional camera systems, but a system that works based on the light between festival-goers. This way, Telenet can inform a small set of testers via message this year about where long queues are forming at bars, stages, and elsewhere.

"Innovation is deeply embedded in Telenet's DNA, and we have always championed the advancement of innovation through genuine partnerships. The media and entertainment sector, in which we have made substantial investments, is a vibrant ecosystem where media, content, technology, and offline experiences converge, driving both economic and societal value.The EntertainmentLab initiative exemplifies this commitment by bringing together a group of startups and Telenet to tackle real consumer challenges, such as crowd management at festivals. This collaborative environment facilitated a successful Proof of Concept (POC), enabling Telenet to leverage its technological expertise and consumer experience insights. By supporting startups, we transformed a real-world issue into a tangible solution for one of the largest festival venues globally. The insights gained from this initiative will be invaluable as we continue to innovate within the entertainment sector.The connections forged and the lessons learned from this POC will pave the way for future collaborations, technical advancements, and meaningful consumer outcomes."

- Mattias Vanderoost: Vice President of New Business Development

"Outsight is thrilled to be selected for EntertainmentLAB's innovation program. This opportunity allows us to demonstrate the potential of our Lidar-based Spatial Intelligence Software in the context of such an important event as Tomorrowland. After establishing our leadership in markets like Airports and Smart Cities, but also applying our solution to the Olympic Games in Paris, this program provides us the chance to apply our solution to other challenging environments. We look forward to collaborating with Telenet and other partners to bring cutting-edge solutions to the entertainment industry."

- Raul Bravo, President and Co-founder of Outsight

Test, Ready, Set, Go!

Everything is set to be tested, now we just need the festival visitors! After these tests, all data will be brought together, and the companies and startups will jointly examine how the solution can be further refined and possibly rolled out in other domains.

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