Festival at Tomorrowland begins, despite main stage inferno
In an unprecedented turn of events, the world-renowned electronic music festival Tomorrowland has successfully navigated a significant setback and is set to continue as scheduled following a fire that engulfed the main stage, known as the "Orbyz" stage, on Wednesday evening.
The blaze, which caused a thick cloud of smoke and fire, with some clips on social media showing exploding fireworks, occurred during pyrotechnic testing. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported, but the stage suffered significant damage.
However, the show must go on, and Tomorrowland has managed to implement updated plans to ensure the festival continues without major disruptions. The city of Boom, where Tomorrowland is held, is located between Brussels and Antwerp.
Metallica came to the rescue by providing elements from their WorldWired stage setup, which was stored in Austria after their European tour. This stage was air-lifted to Belgium and assembled rapidly to replace the damaged main stage.
The festival officially opened to the public on July 18 at 2 PM, as planned, and will proceed until July 24. The lineup includes notable electronic music artists such as Armin van Buuren, Axwell, Eric Prydz, John Summit, FISHER, and NERVO.
Access to the festival will open at 14:00 instead of 12:00 on Friday. Festivalgoers are running to the "DreamVille" campsite on Thursday in anticipation of the event.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, with initial reports suggesting it was accidental and possibly related to pyrotechnic testing. The main stage safety barriers have been removed, and the remains have been demolished.
Tomorrowland is one of the largest electronic music festivals worldwide, with several hundred thousand visitors. This year's edition, themed "Orbyz," was initially planned for two weekends. More than 600 performances are planned on 16 stages.
A spokesperson for the festival has stated that they are going through with the event 100 percent. Organizers are working on two different scenarios for the weekend, with artists who were supposed to perform on the main stage on Friday set to perform on the "Gathering Stage" in "DreamVille" if the replacement stage scenario is not successful.
Water helicopters were deployed as a precaution throughout the day to ensure the safety of the festivalgoers and the festival area. Around 100 firefighters were on site overnight to extinguish the fire.
Despite the setback, Tomorrowland has demonstrated remarkable resilience, and the festival is poised to deliver an unforgettable experience for its visitors. The electronic music festival will proceed as planned on Friday, with the replacement main stage ready to light up the night.
- Social media posts show explosions from fireworks during the pyrotechnic testing that led to the fire on Tomorrowland's main stage, the "Orbyz" stage.
- As the festival continues as scheduled, general news outlets are reporting on the replacement of the damaged main stage with elements from Metallica's WorldWired stage setup.
- Entertainment tonight covers the ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire, with initial reports suggesting it was accidental and possibly related to pyrotechnic testing, and the removal of the main stage safety barriers.
