The large-scale electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland will "100%" go ahead this weekend, the organisation announced during a press conference on Thursday – a day after the iconic Main stage was completely destroyed by a fire.
The emergency services, local politicians and the Tomorrowland organisers have decided that the festival will go ahead this weekend, they announced during a press conference in the municipality of Boom (Antwerp province), where the festival takes place.
"It is exactly 24 hours since our Main stage caught fire," said Debby Wilmsen, spokesperson for Tomorrowland. "We are still deeply affected by what happened, but we have received an incredible amount of support."
"This morning, we scaled up production. We are working on the festival. We are 100% going ahead with Tomorrowland," she said. However, the organisation is still in consultations to ensure that this can be done safely.
Two scenarios
Two scenarios are in place: in the first scenario, a new large stage will be built close to where it usually stands, and the festival can open at full capacity. In that case, the festival will open at 14:00 instead of at noon.
"If that does not work, that scenario is for Saturday. We will open the doors to the 15 other stages that are all ready for everyone who is not camping at Dreamville," said Wilmsen.
In the second scenario (if the new stage is not ready in time), the festival grounds will not be open on Friday for the 38,000 festival-goers staying at Dreamville: they can party at the campsite. Other festival-goers will be able to access the festival grounds from Friday.
Either way, the festival will continue as normal – albeit with a less iconic main stage – from Saturday.
The organisation has also outlined the two scenarios on the Tomorrowland website. Which of the two will ultimately be chosen will only become clear on Friday morning.
Smoke caused by a fire at the festival site of the Tomorrowland electronic music festival, Wednesday 16 July 2025, in Boom. Credit: Belga / Tom Goyvaerts
The decision to allow Tomorrowland to proceed was made in consultation with the mayor of Boom. "We had extensive discussions with the fire brigade and the police and received safety guarantees from the organisers," said Mayor Jeroen Baert (N-VA). "We have therefore decided to allow the festival to proceed, provided there are sufficient guarantees."
"‘We can also throw a party without a main stage," said Wilmsen, referring to DJ Dimitri Vegas' Instagram post on Wednesday after the inferno. He wrote: "Tomorrowland is more than a stage, and we're going to prove it!"
She stressed that everyone will continue working hard this evening and tonight. "But it will not be possible to build a main stage of the calibre of the one that burned down yesterday in such a short time. That stage took two years to build."
What happened?
The festival's main stage – which is a big part of the attraction of the festival – was completely destroyed by a fire on Wednesday evening. The cause of the fire remains unknown, although the sound of fireworks had been previously heard. No injuries were reported.
The fire produced a great deal of smoke, visible from a distance, and there was a relatively strong wind. Police requested area residents to keep access to the site clear for emergency services.
Tomorrowland is set to begin on Friday, expecting over 100,000 visitors. Initial flights bringing international festival-goers already arrived on Wednesday evening.
