The music promoter MOT – Memories of Tomorrow has announced that Hardwell will return to the Somnii stage, set to run from July 10 to 12 at Praia do Relógio. This is being described as “a special moment” and “a long-requested return by the audience.”
Twice named the best DJ in the world, Hardwell, 37, from Breda, Netherlands, has built an international career over the past two decades in electronic dance music, blending various genres from progressive house to the more recent hardstyle, despite pausing tours and live shows between 2018 and 2022.
A frequent performer on Portuguese stages, he appeared last year at Beach Party da Nova Era in Matosinhos, and the previous year at Sudoeste in Zambujeira do Mar.
According to his online biography, the DJ, music producer, and owner of the Revealed label (founded in 2010 to release electronic dance music from emerging talents with an annual compilation), is known for tracks like “Spaceman,” “Apolo,” and “Run Wild,” as well as remixes of songs by Rihanna, Calvin Harris, U2, Moby, Coldplay, among many others.
“Despite his versatility across various genres, Hardwell has consistently stayed true to his roots in electronic music, frequently collaborating with contemporary artists and close partners such as Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki, Afrojack, and Tiesto,” the biography notes.
Hardwell has also released two studio albums: “United We Are” in 2015, which had a global release, and “Rebels Never Die” in 2022.
In 2016, during the “I Am Hardwell” tour, the Dutch DJ performed at Figueira da Foz with a 75-minute set at Somnii in the afternoon, the same day he participated in two other European festivals in Spain and Austria.
At that time, local authorities and the festival’s production team—a collaboration between Genius y Meios and the Renascença group—improvised a heliport at the firefighters’ headquarters, allowing the DJ to arrive at the coastal city in Coimbra district by helicopter after flying privately from Spain to Porto, before heading to Austria.
The MOT also disclosed plans for the 2026 edition of Somnii to explore the concept of “Time,” encouraging festival-goers to reflect on how they experience, perceive, and transform each moment into memories.
To embody this concept, the producer highlighted that the festival’s visual symbol would be a sundial, referencing the iconic Praia do Relógio beach—the 23-meter-high tower constructed along the coastline in the 1940s and a landmark of Figueira da Foz.
Originally, the tower was topped by a sundial installed in 1949, which was replaced by a mechanical clock in the 1970s.
In the statement, Tiago Castelo Branco, CEO of MOT, expressed that the 12th edition of Somnii reinforces the organization’s commitment “to excellence and the continuity of a festival that has become a reference among major events in Portugal.”
