How Tomorrowland 2025 Main Stage has been saved by Metallica
July 19, 2025
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Metallica M72 tour technical setup view
Just 24 hours before opening its 2025 edition, Tomorrowland’s iconic main stage has been destroyed by a fire—threatening to derail the start of the festival.
As hopes for the festival’s opening were nearly extinguished—in an unexpected twist, a last-minute rescue from legendary rock band Metallica turned the odds around.
Metallica’s M72 World Tour to the rescue
According to local news outlet HLN, stage components from Metallica’s M72 World Tour, stored in Austria, were flown overnight to Belgium to help rebuild the main stage in time.
The rapid response allowed the show to go on as scheduled to the great delight of headliner Martin Garrix who expressed his gratitude on Instagram.
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Massive love and a big shoutout to the incredible Tomorrowland team… and to Metallica for coming through with the new stage parts.
Martin Garrix
The main stage of Tomorrowland after being destroyed by fire on July 16, 2025. Credits : BELGA
Fire causes not yet been identified
Sources told the Gazet van Antwerpen that something may have gone wrong while the main stage’s fireworks cannons were being tested. The fire, spread rapidly due to the stage materials. Despite efforts, firefighters couldn’t contain it in time—but managed to protect the rest of the site.
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Despite all our resources, it was impossible to stop something like that.
François van den Eynde
Antwerp local firefighter
A local firefighter, François van den Eynde, told reporters that the blaze “spread very quickly,” likely because of the “materials used” to build the stage. “Despite all our resources, it was impossible to stop something like that. We tried to extinguish the fire, but as soon as you realize you’re not succeeding, you have to limit the damage to the rest of the festival site. That’s what we did. Everything is under control.”
Later on Friday Tomorrowland stated that their teams worked day and night "to turn the impossible into reality" resulting the 2025 edition to open its doors normally at 14:00 and an alternative setup of the Mainstage allowed all artists to perform as scheduled.
