Tomorrowland 2025 will continue in spite of the mainstage being destroyed. Credit to STRINGER/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images.
Los Angeles, California (July 16, 2025)- The air at Tomorrowland 2025 turned from excitement to disbelief on Wednesday, July 16, as the festival’s iconic mainstage caught fire just days before the event was set to begin. Witnesses and staff described the chaos and heartbreak as the heart of one of the world’s most celebrated electronic music festivals burned to its scaffolding.
Kay Soesbergen, who was working in the DreamVille camping area where he caters at festivals in the Netherlands and Belgium, recalled the moment he realized something was seriously wrong. “I looked and saw a really big cloud of smoke coming from the festival area,” he told Billboard. “That’s kind of when we were like, ‘Okay, something is wrong.’ But then the fireworks start going off, and then we knew it was really wrong.” Soon after, he received confirmation from his supervisor: it was the mainstage on fire.
Widely circulated videos captured the surreal scene, where the crackling of flames and bursts of fireworks echoed through the grounds. The grand structure, often the centerpiece of Tomorrowland’s elaborate production and a year-long labor of love, crumbled beneath the blaze. Soesbergen and other food and beverage workers were immediately instructed to report to a holding area while firefighters battled the inferno. He estimates it took between two to three hours for the fire to be extinguished.
As the fire crews worked, the atmosphere among staff wavered between anxiety and cautious relief. “We kind of saw [among the firefighters] that they had the situation under control, so we got a little bit more relaxed,” Soesbergen said. Still, the shock lingered. “The first hour and a half was really about disbelief,” he added.
At a press conference later that evening, Tomorrowland spokeswoman Debby Wilmsen confirmed that while the mainstage had been destroyed, the festival would go on as scheduled starting Friday, July 18, and continuing into the second weekend, July 25–27. The mainstage, however, will be absent for both weekends. “Our production team will now do everything to make something beautiful out of it,” Wilmsen said, according to Belgian outlet GVA. “We’ll have to make some changes, but the intention is for all the big artists to perform.”
Wilmsen stressed that cancellation is not currently being considered, though authorities will have the final say based on safety. “If tomorrow it turns out that the site is not safe and we receive instruction from the authorities, we will follow them. Safety is always the priority.”
The public prosecutor’s office in Antwerp has opened an investigation into the cause of the fire, which remains unknown. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. The DreamVille camping area is still expected to open to attendees on Thursday, July 18.
The loss of the mainstage is a profound blow for fans and organizers alike. Tomorrowland’s mainstage isn’t just a performance space — it’s a global symbol of the festival’s imagination and spectacle, with each year bringing a brand-new design kept tightly under wraps until opening day. This year’s stage had reportedly been in development for two years. Its sudden destruction has already sparked refund requests on social media and left thousands questioning what the festival experience will be without it.
“The Tomorrowland mainstage is a project on its own,” said Soesbergen. “It’s something that’s super special, and not only the people working for Tomorrowland, but everybody around the globe who loves it and looks forward to the reveal… there was a lot of disbelief that this was the situation.”
As the festival community processes the loss, Tomorrowland faces a daunting task: reimagining its most iconic element in a matter of days. Whether through resilience or reinvention, the show, for now, is set to go on.
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