A catastrophic fire has ravaged the grandeur of the main stage at Belgium's Tomorrowland festival, mere days – precisely two – before its grand opening. "Our cherished main stage has suffered grievous damage," lamented festival organizers on Wednesday evening. The official statement reassured that no one was harmed in the inferno, though its origin remains shrouded in mystery.
Slated to commence on Friday in the picturesque town of Boom, nestled south of Antwerp, the electronic dance music extravaganza was poised to welcome an anticipated 400,000 revelers spread across two exhilarating weekends. An eclectic lineup of hundreds of artists, featuring heavyweights like David Guetta, Lost Frequencies, Swedish House Mafia, and Charlotte De Witte, was set to mesmerize audiences.
The blaze erupted around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday, casting a dark shadow over the festivities. Social media was inundated with videos depicting a thick, ominous shroud of grey smoke enveloping the stage, transforming the scene into a dystopian tableau.
An onsite worker, who wished to remain anonymous, recounted the harrowing moment to Het Nieuwsblad newspaper, likening it to "an apocalyptic scene." "We were startled by sudden bangs and witnessed a colossal wall of fire near the stage," they recounted. "We were in the final throes of preparing it. Just one more day and it would have been perfect. Four weeks of painstaking work... reduced to ashes in a mere half-hour."
Firefighters are valiantly battling to prevent the flames from encroaching upon neighboring homes and woods, prompting the evacuation of some residents.
In a subsequent update on the festival's website, organizers emphasized that the campsite would open as scheduled on Thursday, with their primary focus now "on devising solutions to ensure the festival weekend proceeds uninterrupted." They reassured attendees that, despite the loss of the main stage, the event would press on with unwavering spirit.
