Tomorrowland’s DreamVille campsite will open as planned tomorrow (17th July) despite the festival’s main stage being destroyed in a huge fire this evening, organisers have confirmed.
In an emergency press conference – reported by HLN – representatives for the Belgian festival confirmed that no one was injured in the blaze, which broke out on the main stage around 5pm CEST, less than 48 hours before the event was scheduled to start. "The main stage was destroyed ," said spokesperson Debby Wilmsen. "The priority was to keep everyone safe; the rest of the festival will be held tomorrow."
In a statement shared to its website, Tomorrowland shared: “DreamVille (campsite) will open tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) as planned and will be ready for all DreamVille visitors. All Global Journey activities in Brussels and Antwerp will take place as planned.
“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.”
While the festival intends to go ahead, it will be without the main stage. Wilmsen shared: “Fortunately, the other stages are intact. The intention is for the festival to go ahead. But we can't do magic, so it will be without the Mainstage. Our production team will now do everything they can to make it truly special."
38,000 festival goers are expected to arrive at the DreamVille campsite tomorrow. "We're going to give them a very warm welcome," said Wilmsen.
Secondary fires have been reported in the area, but are believed to be under control.
Around 1,000 employees were reported to have been on site when the fire broke out. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, although sources have said that fireworks were heard. Representatives for the local fire department told local outlet GVA: “We don't know yet what happened, but it's clear that it was a fire that spread very quickly. This is, of course, related to the materials used. Despite all our resources, it was impossible to stop something like that. We tried to extinguish the fire, but as soon as you realise you're not succeeding, you have to limit the damage to the rest of the festival site. That's what we did. Everything is under control."
The Antwerp public prosecutor's office has reportedly launched an investigation into the fire, stating: "The incident is being classified as unintentional arson. A fire expert will be appointed who will visit the scene to make initial observations and attempt to determine the cause of the fire. The judicial investigation into the cause of the fire is in full swing."
We will continue to report on this story as it develops.