Tomorrowland 2025 Festival Won't Stop Despite Main Stage Blaze

The show will go on at Belgium's Tomorrowland festival, which lost its main stage to fire just hours before the gates were due to open. 

A blaze swept through Wednesday, July 16th, with organisers confirming in a statement shared on Instagram that, "Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged."

No injuries or casualties were reported.

Despite the setback, the popular electronic music event will push ahead with its program. The DreamVille campsite will open on Thursday, July 17th, as previously announced, with several events and performances scheduled to take place. Additional events planned in Brussels and Antwerp will also continue "as planned."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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At a press conference, Rolling Stone reports, Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen discussed the emotional impact of the disaster. "Years of love and passion have gone into building that stage. Those teams are devastated," she remarked. Tomorrow, is another day, she continues, one that will see "38,000 festival-goers will arrive, we're really looking forward to that, and we're going to give them a warm welcome. We're going to make it a wonderful festival."

Wilmsen confirmed that all other Tomorrowland stages remain "intact" and stated, "The intention is for the festival to go ahead. But we can't do magic, so it will be without the main stage. Our production team will now do everything they can to make it truly special."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Some videos shared online captured what sounded like fireworks popping in the background as firefighters worked to contain the flames. Sources suggested to Gazet van Antwerpen that something may have gone wrong during testing of the main stage's fireworks cannons.

Local firefighter François van den Eynde told reporters that the blaze "spread very quickly," likely due to the "materials used" in the stage construction. "Despite all our resources, it was impossible to stop something like that," he explained. "We tried to extinguish the fire, but as soon as you realize you're not succeeding, you have to limit the damage to the rest of the festival site. That's what we did. Everything is under control."

It's not the first time fire has threatened to stop the fun at a major festival. Glastonbury Festival's main Pyramid Stage famously burned down shortly before the 1994 festival was staged. 

Over its 20-year history, Tomorrowland has grown into one of the world's largest and most popular music festivals, with last year's event attracting roughly 400,000 party-goers.

Tomorrowland's status was confirmed in DJ Magazine Top 100 Festivals poll, on which it came in at No. 1. "There are dance music festivals, and then there is Tomorrowland," reads the blurb from DJ Magazine. "The Belgian spectacle has set new parameters for what’s possible, pairing truly groundbreaking stage production with heavyweight line-ups and magical themes for two bumper weekends every July."

The 2025 lineup features numerous high-profile EDM stars, including Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Dillon Francis, Deadmau5, and Eric Prydz.

The fest is scheduled to run from July 18th-20th, with a second weekend planned for July 24th-27th.