Tomorrowland 2025 Main Stage Destroyed by Fire Days Before Festival Opening

A massive fire completely destroyed the main stage at Belgium’s Tomorrowland music festival on Wednesday, just two days before the event was scheduled to begin.

The fire occurred at the festival site in Boom, Belgium, with thick plumes of black smoke rising from the grounds and fireworks heard going off in the distance. Festival organizers confirmed that no one was injured during the incident.

The main stage, which stood 45 meters high and 160 meters wide, featured more than 2,100 atmospheric elements including water fountains and was under construction since May. Videos circulating on social media showed the dramatic moment the stage collapsed amid the blaze, with emergency responders and hundreds of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the fire and prevent its spread to adjacent forest areas.

Despite the setback, Tomorrowland organizers announced the festival will proceed as planned. The DreamVille campsite opened on Thursday as scheduled, with festival officials stating they are “doing whatever is in our power” to continue with the event. No other parts of the festival venue, stages or areas were impacted by the fire.

At 6 p.m. CEST Thursday, festival organizers updated their official website with two potential scenarios for the weekend. One plan involves opening the grounds at limited capacity, while the other allows for full capacity operations. Both scenarios include a two-hour delay to Friday’s venue opening, with organizers expecting all festival grounds to be fully operational for all ticket holders by Saturday.

Morgan Hermans, who lives near the festival site, told CNN she initially heard what sounded like fireworks going off, which prompted her to look outside. “There was just a big cloud of fireworks and smoke very near us, so that was a bit scary,” she said, adding that “everyone in Boom was a bit terrified for a few seconds.”

The cause of the fire has not been disclosed by festival organizers or authorities. Social media posts claiming festival-goers received emails saying Tomorrowland had been cancelled were dismissed by organizers as “fake news.”

This year marks the 19th edition of Tomorrowland, which is scheduled to run over two weekends from July 18-20 and July 25-27. The festival typically attracts 400,000 visitors across both weekends.

Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen acknowledged the devastation of losing the main stage but emphasized that other stages remain operational with strong lineups. The festival continues to work on solutions for the weekend’s programming without its signature main stage.