Just two days before Tomorrowland, Belgium’s renowned electronic dance music festival, was set to begin on July 16, 2025, the event’s iconic Orbyz Mainstage was devastated by a massive fire, destroying roughly 75% of its structure Instagram. Built of materials such as styrofoam, plywood, and polyurethane, the stage burned rapidly during a fireworks-test session, prompting firefighters to focus on preventing further spread, rather than extinguishing the blaze The Sun. No injuries were reported, but the incident threatened to force the festival’s cancellation Rolling Stone Australia.

In an unexpected and generous gesture, the rock band Metallica came to the rescue. The festival organizers repurposed stage components from Metallica’s European leg of the M72 World Tour, which were being stored in Austria, and airlifted them overnight to Boom, Belgium. These parts were used to piece together an interim main stage—smaller in scale, with a simpler design, but fully operational by July 18 The Sun.

Martin Garrix, one of Tomorrowland’s headlining DJs, praised the rapid assistance, saying in an Instagram post: “My set at Tomorrowland is still happening… Massive love… to Metallica for coming through with the new stage parts” LOS40. Fans and artists alike celebrated the rebuild, recognizing it as a “miracle” and emphasizing the renewed focus on music and energy over technical spectacle News.com.au. One fan noted the unexpected intimacy of the smaller stage: “people are closer to the DJ… more about dancing than posting videos” News.com.au.

The swift response—from organizers, festival production partners (Phlippo Productions, Noizboyz, PRG), firefighters, and Metallica’s logistics team—enabled the festival to open on schedule. Tomorrowland drew an estimated 400,000 attendees across two weekends, showcasing 600 artists across 16 stages KBXR-FM.

Beyond technical details, this incident underscored themes of resilience, artistic solidarity, and collaborative spirit within the music community. The new mainstage, adorned with a massive LED screen and situated in front of the charred remains of its predecessor, emerged as a powerful symbol of rebirth and unity Audilous. The story sparked waves of admiration on social media and was hailed as “one of the coolest pics in music history” by attendees News.com.au.

Key Points

• Devastating fire destroyed 75% of the Tomorrowland main stage two days before the festival’s start, built from highly combustible materials News.com.au.
• Metallica to the rescue: their touring stage infrastructure was repurposed to reconstruct a viable main stage in under 48 hours AXS TV.
• Festival opens on time: the new stage allowed Tomorrowland to proceed as originally scheduled, maintaining 600 performances across two weekends AXS TV.
• Symbolic triumph: the rebuilt stage, fronted by a giant LED wall and set before the charred backdrop, represented community strength, resilience, and creative adaptability LOS40.
• Social media and artist praise: Martin Garrix and other performers publicly thanked Metallica, while fans hailed the rebuild as “inspiring” News.com.au.

Implications & Outlook

• Crisis contingency: The successful emergency rebuild showcases the logistical depth and preparedness within large-scale live event production networks.
• Cross-genre collaboration: Metallica’s rapid support underscores how major artists can assist broader music communities beyond genre boundaries.
• Festival narrative: This edition of Tomorrowland is likely remembered not only for performances but for its resilience and unity in the face of adversity.

Just two days before Tomorrowland, Belgium’s renowned electronic dance music festival, was set to begin on July 16, 2025, the event’s iconic Orbyz Mainstage was devastated by a massive fire, destroying roughly 75% of its structure Instagram. Built of materials such as styrofoam, plywood, and polyurethane, the stage burned rapidly during a fireworks-test session, prompting