Fire destroys main stage of Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival before event
Group from Canada still going ahead with their trip: 'This is still the greatest festival in the world'
A massive fire at Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival site "severely damaged" the main stage on Wednesday, two days before the event was due to start.
Flames engulfed the stage in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, igniting fireworks on site and sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the air around 6 p.m. local time.
''Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland main stage, our beloved main stage has been severely damaged,'' the organizers posted on the event's website. ''We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident.''
Festivalgoers weren't on site because the event doesn't start until Friday. Organizers said nobody was hurt.
The annual festival has been running for 20 years and draws tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. This weekend, that includes six friends who booked thousands of kilometres of travel from Nunavut and Ontario to go to the event together. They said the fire was a shock and disappointment, but they'll still be going to the festival to have the best time they can.
"You know, we bought our tickets in December and we built up hype for six or seven months now for this. And you know, the main stage is the show and it's gone," said Adam Akpik, standing with the rest of the group outside their hotel in Amsterdam.
"But even without the main stage, this is still the greatest festival in the world."
Akpik and Davidee Nowyook flew from Iqaluit to Ottawa, then drove to Montreal for another flight to meet the rest of their group in Amsterdam earlier this week: Chloe Norris, Kevin Corriveau and sisters Holly and Andrea Ferguson. They had planned to spend a few days in the Dutch capital before the final leg of their trip on Friday: a three-hour train to Belgium.
They were in the middle of their last dinner in Amsterdam on Wednesday when they saw the fire at Tomorrowland on the news.
"At first we thought it was a hoax. We were hoping it was a hoax. But more and more credible pages started to share that it was in fact on fire," Akpik said in an interview, as the group stood outside their hotel in Amsterdam.
More than 600 artists are set to play over the course of the festival, which is still going ahead. There are 15 stages in total, but more than a dozen artists including Martin Garrix, Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta were scheduled for the main stage. The venue is the centrepiece of the festival, recognized for elaborate designs that change every year.
"The word we kind of all discussed together was devastating, but we also talked about Tomorrowland as a franchise and we're very optimistic with how we knew they would move forward with this. We felt like, in their hands, they would figure out a solution," Holly Ferguson said, her sister nodding.
"So I think we all kind of have an idea like, we're optimistic, but devastated," added Norris.
Organizers did not say what caused the fire. The statement said their focus is now on "finding solutions" for the festival weekend to work around the main stage.
Akpik said their group is still going to catch their train on Friday and stay for the weekend at DreamVille, Tomorrowland's designated camping area, provided there are no safety concerns.
"It's kind of impossible to have terrible time. And just like the wonder of it and how hard it is to get tickets, the allure, it's everything. It lives up to the hype," said Akpik, who's been to the festival twice before.
The rest of the group agreed.
"It's just a weekend that celebrates peace and unity," said Holly. "It doesn't matter where you're from. Doesn't matter who you are. Like, everyone comes together. It's a really special weekend."
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With files from The Associated Press