The Main Stage at the Tomorrowland festival has been completely destroyed by a fire that broke out on Wednesday evening, two days before the start of the event. Nobody was injured, and it remains unclear what caused the fire. It has now been extinguished and organisers are discussing how the festival can go ahead tomorrow.
When the fire broke out, there were no visitors at the site in Boom, Antwerp province. However, the organisers were busy preparing for the event, with around 1,000 employees at work.
No one was injured, but the material damage is extensive: the elaborately decorated Main Stage has been completely destroyed. Years of work were lost in less than an hour when the fire broke out at around 18.00.
The public prosecutor’s office is opening an investigation into accidental arson and a fire expert will determine the cause.
The fire brigade and police have the final say when it comes to safety, and we always listen to them
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told a press conference on Wednesday that the festival would go ahead, but organisers will meet security services and local authorities on Thursday to see if this is possible.
The campsite is in Rumst, while the festival itself takes place at De Schorre in Boom. The 38,000 campers will be able to pitch their tents on Thursday and the bars will be open, she said. There are also activities planned in Brussels, where festival-goers are staying in hotels, and these will all go ahead.
'Too early to say'
Wilmsen advises visitors to follow Tomorrowland’s official communication channels and not to believe rumours that have been circulating on social media.
“It’s too early to say exactly what we’ll be able to do at De Schorre itself, but we’ll have to be creative,” she said. “However, the fire brigade and police have the final say when it comes to safety, and we always listen to them.”
In a post on Instagram on Thursday morning, the organisers confirmed that the campsite was open and events in Brussels and Antwerp would go ahead, with further announcements on the festival to follow.
"We spent the night working on possible solutions for the Mainstage area," they said. "No other parts of the festival venue, stages or areas were impacted."
According to Jurgen Callaerts of N-VA, the mayor of Rumst, "cancelling the festival entirely is the last thing we want to do".
Tomorrowland was due to welcome 200,000 people this weekend, with the same number expected next weekend. The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and has spin-off events in the Alps and Brazil.
The first campers arrive at Tomorrowland
