A major fire erupted on the main stage of Belgium’s iconic Tomorrowland festival on Wednesday afternoon, two days before the official start. The flames destroyed a massive structure featuring a 45-meter height and 160-meter width, along with over 2,000 atmospheric elements, including lights, pyrotechnics, water fountains, and cascades.
Following the incident, the causes of which remain unknown and resulted in no injuries, organizers have promised solutions for the main stage area. Today, an alternative structure has been announced, measuring eight meters high and 70 meters wide, approximately a third of the original’s size.
“Our teams are working night and day, heart and soul, to make the impossible a reality: Tomorrowland Belgium 2025 will open its doors at 14:00,” stated the organization in a communiqué.
The organizers have planned an alternative setup for the main stage, which will open at 16:00, pending any last-minute changes.
Artists are expected to perform as per their scheduled times.
Hundreds of people collaborated in constructing this new main stage, ensuring the area’s safety, allowing the festival to welcome visitors as initially planned in the early afternoon.
This year’s edition of the festival, which began in 2005 and is set in an area equivalent to 63 soccer fields after 53 days of setup, carries the theme “Orbyz,” inspired by a world of ice filled with mythical creatures and ancient secrets.
Debby Wilmsen, spokesperson for Tomorrowland, discussed the preparations in an interview: “We are now working with Orbyz, a new team we created that will come to life not only on the main stage but also in different forms at the festival area, and later in a book, a comic, and also another festival in Las Vegas.”
About 200,000 people from over 200 nationalities are expected in Boom this weekend to witness performances by more than 850 DJs across 16 stages, with similar figures anticipated the following weekend.
Wilmsen remarked that it would be “a truly eclectic lineup,” with “opportunities for young talent” and “many women,” something uncommon in the electronic music world until recently.
Among the DJs present, 14 are Brazilian, as the organizers wish to repay “the affection from the Brazilian audience” in Belgium, according to Wilmsen.
Brazil is one of the leading participant nationalities at Tomorrowland, not least because of the autumn edition in São Paulo, alongside Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking countries, but primarily Belgians and Americans, according to the spokesperson.
“We have many festival-goers coming from Portugal and Portuguese-speaking countries,” Wilmsen added.
The lineup includes prominent DJs such as Amelie Lens, Armin van Buuren, Bob Sinclar, Charlotte de Witte, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, John Summit, Lost Frequencies, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, and Swedish House Mafia.
Brazilian DJs include Alok, Anna, Vintage Culture, and Zerb.
From Portugal, DJ Diego Miranda and DJ Marfox are set to perform.
The festival, known as the “Disneyland for adults,” has been sold out for several months.
