Tomorrowland 2025: I was at the campsite when the main stage burned

I have done eight editions of Tomorrowland, from my first Day Pass in 2016 to my camping weekends at DreamVille. None is like 2025. That year the main stage burned down two days before opening, and I lived it from the campsite, not knowing for hours whether we would see the festival.

Setting off knowing the stage had burned

We found out before leaving, like everyone, from the videos going round everywhere. The organisers' message was clear: come, DreamVille is opening. But behind it, nobody really knew what would happen. The police, the fire service and the organisers had to decide, and we were on the road with our tents, somewhere between the usual excitement and real worry.

At the campsite, hours of uncertainty and rumours

When we arrived, it still smelled of burning. And the uncertainty lasted, I would say between three and five hours. The problem was simple: from DreamVille, you pass right by the main stage to get into the festival. Until that area was made safe, nothing guaranteed we could get through.

So the campsite started talking. Word going round said campers would stay at the campsite and party on the DreamVille stage while everyone else went to the festival. We looked at each other thinking "no, that won't do", imagining all sorts. Looking back, the rumour was not so crazy: it was exactly one of the two scenarios the organisers announced. Either the area was made safe and a new stage was ready, and everyone went in; or DreamVille and the festival were kept apart on Friday, with the main stage artists playing for campers at The Gathering.

Then the news came: they had found a solution, we would be able to go onto the site. The relief across the campsite is something I will never forget.

In front of the stand-in main stage

The first time in front of the replacement stage, it was sad. I have to admit it. Instead of the giant decor, a much simpler setup, a DJ booth in front of a wide LED screen. The stage was smaller, closer, with fewer people in the pit. And on the first day it still smelled of burning.

But I was also grateful, and honestly stunned. Clearing the debris and putting up a new stage in so little time, with the police, the fire service and the mayors of Boom and Rumst, is not something just anyone can do. The organisers themselves called it a "miracle". I think of all the crews who worked day and night so the festival could happen. That night we were sad and happy to be there at the same time.

To be honest, we did not spend much time at the main stage that year. Some of our favourite artists were playing elsewhere, but the different atmosphere probably played a part. It may be the only edition where other stages held me that much, and it is a good reminder: Tomorrowland is not just its main stage.

The German neighbours

What saved that weekend was the people. At the campsite you sometimes end up next to neighbours who do not feel like talking, or it is you who does not. This time our neighbours were a group of Germans, and it was great. They came to chat every day, we met up at the festival, we spent a good part of the weekend together. Hours of uncertainty bring people closer.

And what followed is almost too good: a few months later, a friend who was with us ran into them again at Tomorrowland Winter, in Alpe d'Huez. It is a small world, and that is crazy. That is the Tomorrowland spirit too: you meet people there, you do more festivals with them, and you bump into each other elsewhere.

What I take from it

• Only trust the official channels. At the campsite, rumours travel faster than press releases, and some were wrong. The festival's app and social accounts kept everyone informed.
• A festival is first of all thousands of people working on it. I have not looked at a stage the same way since.
• The other stages are worth it. That year more than ever, they carried the festival.
• Talk to your campsite neighbours. The best encounters of my Tomorrowlands came from there.

Everything about camp life, from The Gathering to the supermarket, is in my story of my first weekend at DreamVille. Dates and tickets for the next edition are on the Tomorrowland page.