Belgium's Tomorrowland stage destroyed in fire days before festival opening

A massive fire has gutted the iconic main stage of Belgium's Tomorrowland festival just days before opening, prompting an emergency response though no injuries were reported

A massive fire severely damaged the main stage of the world-renowned Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival in Belgium on Wednesday (local time), just two days before its official opening on Friday. While no serious injuries were reported among the approximately 1,000 staff members present at the time, the festival’s iconic main stage has been almost completely destroyed.

 

In a statement shared on Instagram, festival organisers confirmed the extent of the damage: “Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged.” They further confirmed that there were no serious injuries.

 

Videos circulating on social media showed thick clouds of smoke engulfing the massive stage structure. Belgium’s public broadcaster VRT reported that the main stage has almost completely burned down. Firefighters and law enforcement are yet to determine the cause of the fire, though emergency services were quickly deployed and remain at the scene. All staff members have since been evacuated. 

 

A massive fire destroyed the main stage at Tomorrowland festival in Boom, Belgium, just days before its July 18 start.  Firefighters contained the blaze; no attendees were present, but ~1,000 staff were on-site. pic.twitter.com/IJ8jHZHrrH

— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) July 16, 2025

 

Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told CNN that many workers were devastated by the incident, especially since the stage took years to build with so much love and passion.

 

Festival to go ahead as planned

 

Despite the extensive damage, the festival will not be cancelled. Organisers said that DreamVille, the event’s main campsite, will open on Thursday as scheduled. Additional events planned in Brussels and Antwerp will also proceed as planned.

 

As for the main festival, scheduled to take place July 18–20 in the town of Boom, south of Antwerp and again for a second weekend from July 24–27, organisers said they are working on finding solutions and will share more information soon, reported Variety.

 

Tomorrowland is expected to draw more than 400,000 attendees over both weekends. This year’s lineup includes major acts such as Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Dillon Francis and Eric Prydz.

 

(With inputs from agencies)