Disco inferno: Massive fire breaks out at Tomorrowland EDM festival in Belgium

a fire at the festival site of the Tomorrowland electronic music festival, Wednesday 16 July 2025
(Image credit: STRINGER/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty)

Scary scenes from Belgium, where a huge fire has broken out at the site of the Tomorrowland dance music festival, which is set to kick off tomorrow (July 18).

Video footage from the scene shows emergency services working to extinguish the blaze at the festival, which is one of Europe’s biggest, attracting up to 400,000 guests. The fire appears to have completely burned down the main stage.

Residents of Boom - the town close to Antwerp near where Tomorrowland takes place - were advised yesterday to close their windows and doors to avoid smoke inhalation. It is thought that the blaze started when fireworks that were part of the festival’s production were being tested, though this has not yet been confirmed by the organisers.

Huge fire breaks out at Tomorrowland music festival one day before event starts - YouTube Huge fire breaks out at Tomorrowland music festival one day before event starts - YouTube
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The good news is that no one was injured in the fire. Tomorrowland put out a statement this morning saying that the festival’s campsite would be opening today (the 17th) as planned. They confirmed that the main stage has been destroyed but “we (are) working on possible solutions for the Mainstage area. No other parts of the festival venue, stages or areas were impacted.”

Tomorrowland was founded in 2005 and has since grown to become one of Europe’s biggest celebrations of techno and dance music. At the time of writing it looks as though this year’s event is still going ahead - despite the lack of a main stage - although ticket holders would be advised to check the Tomorrowland website here for further developments.

Will Simpson
News and features writer

Will Simpson is a freelance music expert whose work has appeared in Classic Rock, Classic Pop, Guitarist and Total Guitar magazine. He is the author of 'Freedom Through Football: Inside Britain's Most Intrepid Sports Club' and his second book 'An American Cricket Odyssey' is due out in 2025

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