The festival’s main stage was damaged in a massive fire on July 16
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at around 5 pm local time in Boom, Belgium, the “Orbyz” Mainstage caught fire during fireworks testing and pyrotechnics checks. The blaze engulfed nearly the entire main stage — destroying its elaborate set and structure. Miraculously, there were no injuries. The fire occurred before ticket-holders arrived; around 1,000 workers and some nearby residents were evacuated, and firefighters managed to prevent broader damage.
Check out photos below.
Tomorrowland confirmed via press release that DreamVille (the campsite) would still open on Thursday, July 17, and Global Journey events in Brussels and Antwerp would proceed as planned. Antwerp prosecutors opened an investigation, characterizing the fire as accidental/unintentional arson; official confirmation of pyrotechnic testing as cause remains pending.
In a roundabout way, heavy metal legends Metallica have saved the day. As confirmed by Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen, elements from the band’s WorldWired stage and touring rig are being used to build a new stage so that the festival can go on as planned. Metallica’s setup, which was built by the Belgian production company Stageco, was being stored in Austria after the band’s European trek on their previous WorldWired Tour. Since it is a touring rig, the set is designed to be set up in under 24 hours. With time being of the utmost importance, the fact that Tomorrowland can get this set built and still start the festival on time makes it a no-brainer option. The gear was reportedly air-lifted to Belgium.
In 2019, the European leg of Metallica’s WorldWired Tour ran from May 1 to August 25, 2019, beginning in Lisbon and wrapping up in Mannheim, Germany. The trek was comprised of 25 shows across 20 countries. The band sold a total of approximately 1.5 million tickets. A portion of each ticket helped raise over €1.5 million for local charities across those 25 shows. The 13 stadium shows alone grossed over $70 million. The band’s show on 8 June, 2019 at Slane Castle, Ireland drew 71,122 fans and grossed around $8.19 million, while 6 July at Berlin’s Olympiastadion saw 68,452 attendees and brought in $6.75 million.
