x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

news

Pioneering festivals set to launch in metaverse

Decentraland is gearing up for the metaverse's first multi-day festival, while Roblox and Insomniac are preparing to bring EDC to the virtual world

By IQ on 20 Oct 2021

A preview of Electric Daisy Festival in Roblox

A preview of Electric Daisy Festival in Roblox


Virtual blockchain-based world Decentraland is preparing to host the world’s first multi-day festival in the metaverse – a virtual world made up of permanent, shared, 3D virtual spaces.

The event, simply titled ‘Metaverse Festival’, will feature more than 80 high-profile artists and personalities across four days and five stages.

Deadmau5, RAC, 3LAU, Nina Nesbitt, 3Lau, Alison Wonderland and Aluna (of AlunaGeorge) are all scheduled to make appearances.

The festival organisers have even secured Paris Hilton – whose in-game avatar was designed by avatar technology company Genies.

Alongside music, Metaverse Festival will also offer a funfair, games, merch stands, a VIP lounge, chill-out zones, a psychedelic sculpture garden and – in a world-first – virtual portable toilets.

“Every festival needs portable toilets – even in the metaverse”

According to festival coordinator, Sam Hamilton, “every festival needs portable toilets – even in the metaverse”.

“These are no ordinary portable toilets. Every toilet contains a different experience. Some good, some bad, some mind-blowing. Definitely worth your while checking them out,” he adds.

Hamilton says festivalgoers wanting to ‘experience’ the virtual toilets will have to “queue up like everyone else”.

“But the toilets change with each visit. No two Dump ‘N’ Pump experiences are the same,” he adds.

The central theme of the Metaverse Festival is Evolution and the event will “transform” throughout the four days, from Water on day one, to Earth, Space, and finally, Metaverse.

This metamorphosis will be visible in the main Evolution stage, presented by Bitcoin trading platform Kraken, which is sponsoring the event, along with drinks brand Heineken and crypto-exclusive fund Metapurse.

“The beauty of the metaverse is you never know what you’ll find”

“This is our way of expressing human evolution – emerging from the water onto the land, reaching space and of course the next big leap which is a pioneering exploration of the metaverse,” explains Hamilton.

The line-up will be added to up until the last minute, which Hamilton says is “the beauty of the metaverse – you never know what you might find”.

The event runs from tomorrow (21 October) until 24 October and is accessible through the festival home page or Decentraland Events page.

Elsewhere, Roblox and event promoter Insomniac today announced they will bring one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world – Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) – to the metaverse.

Taking place concurrently with EDC in Las Vegas, Nevada, sets will be streamed on Roblox after the in-person shows

The event will be the first-ever music festival hosted in Roblox and will take place in a virtual space dubbed the Insomniac World Party.

Taking place concurrently with EDC in Las Vegas, Nevada, sets will be streamed on Roblox after the in-person shows – mirroring the real-life festival – and artists will join the experience in Roblox after their sets to hold ‘meet and greets’ and interact with fans.

The festival will capture the environment that EDC is known for, replicating the event’s iconic stages and featuring interactive activities like dance battles. Joining the event will also give attendees the chance to win real and virtual merchandise.

EDC will be held in the metaverse from 22–25 October with the virtual space opening on 19 October.

Today’s news comes days after Facebook announced it plans to hire 10,000 people to develop a so-called metaverse, as the race to build the ‘next iteration of the internet accelerates.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.