The mainstage at Tomorrowland was completely destroyed after a fire engulfed it just hours away from its opening weekend with doubt being cast on whether the festival could go ahead
Tomorrowland festival organisers have issued a massive update ahead of the planned opening day tomorrow after a huge fire broke out on the main stage.
The future of this year’s festival was thrown into doubt when the main stage erupted into an inferno on Wednesday. Despite the best efforts of firefighters, the entire main stage was completely destroyed in the blaze. Tomorrowland’s main stage is designed to showcase the festival’s theme each year and makes up a sizeable part of the overall capacity of the site. As images of the blaze showed the devastation, many people believed the festival would be scaled back, or even cancelled.
Now Tomorrowland organisers have issued a major update about the festival’s opening weekend. In a statement shared on its website, Tomorrowland said: “We are still devastated, but the support we’re receiving all over the world and the energy and joy of the visitors at Dreamville (the campsite) today are truly heartwarming.
“Meanwhile, hundreds of people are working tirelessly at the Mainstage area to ensure we can open the gates tomorrow. It’s a race against time, but we’re doing this together with the best and most amazing people in the world.
“What we can confirm is that we will be able to welcome everyone tomorrow. Currently, there are two possible scenarios for Friday, July 18. We expect to have more clarity by tomorrow morning.”
Tomorrowland then outlined the two scenarios that could happen this weekend, which include:
Scenario 1
If the Mainstage are can be secured and a new setup completed, the festival grounds will open as planned for all visitors and all ticket types.
Scenario 2
If we are unable to open at full visitor capacity, DreamVille and the festival grounds will function as two separate areas on Friday to ensure the safety of all guests. In this case:
- The Gathering Stage at DreamVille will host the Mainstage artists originally scheduled for Friday, July 18
- DreamVille visitors will not be able to access the festival grounds
- The festival grounds (without the Mainstage) will be open to all other visitors (Friday Day Pass, Global Journey Hotel Packages, and Full Madness Pass holders.
In both scenarios, door will open at 2pm and not at 12pm.
Tomorrowland is held in the Belgian city of Boom each July and welcomes hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe every year. It is a massive festival that bags more than 100 million for the local economy every year.