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Tens of thousands of attendees have arrived at Tomorrowland in Belgium, following a fire that destroyed the festival’s main stage the previous day.
Organizers have affirmed that the electronic music festival, held in Boom, south of Antwerp, will proceed despite the setback, stating they are “focused on finding solutions.”
The blaze, which occurred Wednesday evening, resulted in no injuries, and authorities are currently investigating the cause.
The festival is scheduled to commence on Friday, with an anticipated attendance of 400,000 people across two weekends.
A lineup of hundreds of artists, including prominent names like David Guetta, Lost Frequencies, Swedish House Mafia, and Charlotte De Witte, are slated to perform.
Local fire services have declared the site safe, and a decision regarding the potential demolition of the damaged structure before Friday’s opening is pending.
The campsite, known as DreamVille, is now open, and organizers maintain that the weekend event will continue as planned.
Bradley Cooper-Barnard, who traveled from London with friends, commented on the atmosphere.
“This is my fourth Tomorrowland and things definitely feel a little different,” he told the BBC.
“Dreamville itself feels very much subdued, there’s a bit of a sombre feeling around. In all of my previous years by this time of the day people are partying and there’s usually music everywhere – it’s quite quiet but a good amount of people around,” he said.
“We’ve got our tents set up and we’re going to have a great time come what may.”
In a recent Instagram post, Tomorrowland expressed, “It is impossible to put into words what we’re feeling.”
They added that the Orbyz main stage “wasn’t just a stage… it was was living breathing world”.
Organizers reported working through the night to devise alternative solutions. A meeting with safety experts and local government officials was held Thursday morning to discuss contingency plans.
The mayor of Rumst, just north of Boom, informed local media that another meeting would be held in the afternoon to explore further options for replacing the main stage.
“Cancelling the festival completely is the last thing we want to do,” Jurgen Callaerts stated.
The festival grounds include 14 other stages, though all are smaller in scale than the main stage.
Further details are expected to be released later on Thursday.
The fire reportedly began around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Social media videos depicted thick, grey smoke engulfing the stage.
Some residents were evacuated as firefighters worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to nearby homes and woodland.
A police helicopter equipped with a water tank was also deployed to assist in extinguishing the fire.
An employee who was present on-site described the scene as “an apocalyptic scene” as the fire erupted.
“We suddenly heard bangs and saw fire near the stage, a huge amount of fire,” the unnamed individual told Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.
“We were just putting the finishing touches on it. One more day and it would be finished. Four weeks of work… gone in half an hour.”
Tomorrowland, established in 2005, has evolved into the world’s largest electronic dance music festival, attracting attendees from across the globe.
Pop icon Lulu is headlining the event alongside other bands and artists.
Thick plumes of black smoke can be seen billowing into the sky as flames engulfed the main stage.
Footage on social media shows flames ravaging the Belgian festival’s main stage, just two days before it opens.
City councillors agree to scale back the annual event in a bid to make it financially resilient.
A total of 19 arrests were made during the three-day event, half the figure for last year’s event.
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