Masters Of Hardcore 2026

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Art of Dance built an industrial underwater world for Masters of Hardcore 2026, centred around a shark head structure of monumental scale. The construction reaches 35 metres in depth and hangs above the crowd. The base structure and most of the stage came from previous editions. Create was brought in to produce three new elements that completed the image.

The project ran over five months. Around one week went into technical drawings. The Decotex banners that cover the jaw of the shark head are large, curved panels with a specific cap shape. Drawing that shape takes precision: the banners have to fit the curved form of the shark head exactly. Only once the technical drawings were right did production start. Then came roughly two weeks in the workshop.

The Decotex panels run 30 metres in length, printed to match the shark head design. The curved cap shape determined how the panels were cut and assembled.

The teeth were produced in multiple sizes and went through a sample phase: a test version first, adjustments, then full production. All tooth decoration is hand-painted. One decorator painted 6,000 pop rivets by hand to achieve the industrial underwater texture the concept required.

The third element is 360 sea-mine panels. They form the underwater world surrounding the shark head and connect to the existing stage elements.