On Wednesday, July 16, a devastating fire broke out at the Tomorrowland festival site in Boom, just before the start of the festival on Friday. The mainstage, where hundreds of workers were testing fireworks, was completely ablaze when the fire broke out.
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The fire occurred “while pyrotechnics were being tested” – loud bangs were heard just before the fire broke out. More than a thousand workers were present at the fire, but fortunately, no injuries have been reported so far. The fire department and other emergency services responded en masse, but were unable to fully control the fire by evening. Heavy smoke billowed across the site, prompting a warning to local residents: they were urged to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke.
Video footage shows at least half of the stage engulfed in flames, and there is concern that the fire could spread to surrounding vegetation or tents. Police drones are also monitoring the situation from above, and roads around the festival site have been closed off to allow firefighting to proceed unhindered.
A nightmare for every festival fan: watch the footage below
The impact on Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest dance festivals with some 400,000 visitors spread over two weekends, is still unclear. The stage, decorated with ice and crystal spheres under the “Orbyz” theme, appears to be completely destroyed. “The fire started near the main stage,” Debby Wilmsen, spokesperson for Tomorrowland, told VRT. “We don’t yet know the exact cause. But our first priority now is to bring everyone to safety. This also applies to the safety of all local residents. We will communicate further after that.”
The questions are mounting: can the festival go ahead on the planned weekends of July 18–20 and 25–27? Regarding hardstyle artists: Sub Zero Project and MANDY are scheduled to perform at the biggest mainstage out there. Latest updates are that DreamVille will open tomorrow. DJ’s such as Dimitri Vegas have already responded to the fire.
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UPDATE
“Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged”, says the official Tomorrowland announcement. “We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident.”
“We can announce that, DreamVille (campsite) will open tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) as planned and will be ready for all DreamVille visitors. All Global Journey activities in Brussels and Antwerp will take place as planned.”
“We are focused on finding solutions for the festival weekend (Friday – Saturday – Sunday). More updates and detailed information will be communicated as soon as possible.”
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