Tomorrowland to open this weekend despite huge blaze destroying main stage of festival

The main stage of electronic music festival Tomorrowland was engulfed in flames after a fire broke out at the site in Boom near Antwerp on Wednesday evening.

Firefighters quickly attended the scene and local residents were advised to close their windows due to the thick grey smoke bellowing out from the festival site.  

No one was injured during the incident according to organisers, who confirmed that the festival would go ahead as planned this weekend.

“We can announce that, DreamVille (campsite) will open tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) as planned and will be ready for all DreamVille visitors,” it said on its website.

“We are focused on finding solutions for the festival weekend (Friday – Saturday – Sunday).
More updates and detailed information will be communicated as soon as possible,” it added.

But there was a less optimistic message on Thursday morning. Speaking on Radio 1 (VRT), the festival spokesperson said: "It's still a little too early to say exactly what we'll be able to do. We'll have to be creative while keeping safety in mind, because ultimately, this has to be done in consultation with the police and fire services."

Tomorrowland was preparing to welcome some 200,000 festivalgoers from around the world for the first weekend of the internationally-renowned EDM event when the main stage went up on flames.

According to videos shared on social media, the blaze broke out on the left side of the gigantic set before engulfing the whole elaborate structure.

The first flights dedicated exclusively to transporting festivalgoers were already landing in Belgium when the fire broke out.

The Antwerp prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the blaze as a case of involuntary fire, it announced in a press release. 

"A fire expert report has been requested. The team will go to the site to make initial findings" and attempt to determine the cause of the fire, it said.

Photo: VRT screengrab