Tomorrowland has built an alternative main stage, after the original was destroyed during a blaze on Wednesday (July 16), and has announced that the event will continue has planned.
The fire broke out less than 48 hours before more than 70,000 attendees were due to attend the dance festival in Boom, Belgium. While approximately 1,000 employees were on site at the time, there were no injuries reported, although it did throw uncertainty over whether the festival would be fine to go ahead as scheduled.
In a new statement released today (July 18), the festival confirmed it will be going ahead as planned, less than two hours before the festival site in Boom, Belgium, was due to welcome hundreds of thousands of attendees.
“Dear People of Tomorrow, WE ARE READY FOR YOU!,” the statement on Tomorrowland’s website reads. “Our teams are working day and night, with heart and soul, to turn the impossible into reality: Tomorrowland Belgium 2025 will open doors at 2pm.”
The new stage is built against the backdrop of the burnt-down old stage – and features a smaller DJ booth and a large screen behind it.
The festival shared an image of the new stage online, and fans have been leaving heartfelt and emotional messages in the comments section of the post.
“The symbolism of this is very powerful it shows more than just a stage that was destroyed and rebuilt,” one user wrote. “It reflects how the world stands today, back there, and how we envision it moving forward. Nothing is stronger and more imposing than the message it carries.”
Meanwhile, another called it the “most iconic photo in dance industry.”
Those billed to play the 2025 event include David Guetta, Lost Frequencies, Swedish House Mafia and Charlotte De Witte, and there are 14 other stages outside of the main stage, although they are considerably smaller.
When the fire broke out at around 6pm local time (4pm UK time), footage of the destruction was quickly shared across social media. One employee said that it felt “apocalyptic” to see the damage it was causing.
“We suddenly heard bangs and saw fire near the stage, a huge amount of fire,” they told Het Nieuwsblad. “We were just putting the finishing touches on it. One more day and it would be finished. Four weeks of work… gone in half an hour.”
Some residents in the area were evacuated, and firefighters worked to prevent the fire from reaching the surrounding homes or woodland.
It isn’t yet clear why the fire broke out, although some speculate it may be an issue with pyrotechnics, as fireworks were allegedly heard by some people in the area.