4 days ago
Tomorrowland festival continues after fire destroys main stage
The Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Belgium was set to carry on as scheduled after a fire broke out at the site and destroyed the main stage. Photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA
July 17 (UPI) -- Tomorrowland music festival is still on after a fire destroyed the main stage, organizers announced on Thursday.
Tomorrowland said in an update on its website that the doors to its DreamVille campsite had opened to campers at 10 a.m. local in Belgium on Thursday ahead of the start of the music festival on Friday.
"This wasn't just a stage. It was a living, breathing world. From the very first sketch on a blank page, to countless hours of conceptual design, artistic collaboration, engineering, crafting, and building, every single piece of Orbyz carried part of our soul," Tomorrowland posted on its website.
The fire took place on Wednesday, no one was injured and experts are working on finding the cause. By Thursday morning, the fire had been extinguished and firefighters had left the site.
Organizers worked with the local government and safety experts throughout Wednesday night to figure out a solution for the festival.
"Cancelling the festival completely is the last thing we want to do," Jurgen Callaerts, Mayor of Rumst said.
The campsite Dreamville has been declared safe by the local fire service as it opened for the event.
Attendees expressed disappointment in the stage not being included in this year's festival.
"The main stage is what gives the festival its atmosphere and is what makes it so special," said Jules Adam, a ticket holder.
"The main event is the main stage," Stjepan Grgic said. "It's a massive loss."
Tomorrowland started in 2005 and it became the biggest electronic dance festival in the world.
