Metallica played an unexpected but pivotal role in rescuing Belgium’s iconic electronic music festival, Tomorrowland, after a massive fire decimated its main stage over the weekend.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon (16th July), engulfing the elaborate, ice-themed main stage just hours before the festival’s 200,000-capacity campsite was due to open. Miraculously, no injuries were reported.
Despite the devastation, a brand-new stage was constructed within 24 hours—erected directly in front of the charred remains—thanks to swift intervention from the heavy metal legends.
Key elements from Metallica’s European tour setup, stored in Austria, were airlifted to Belgium overnight on Thursday. A new structure was assembled in the early hours of Friday, allowing the festival to proceed as planned.
Images from the festival show the newly built Tomorrowland main stage standing impressively before the scorched ruins of the original.
Electronic music star Martin Garrix took to Instagram to share a photo with Lars Ulrich, writing: “I cannot believe I’m actually typing this… but my set at Tomorrowland is still happening! Massive love and a big shoutout to the incredible Tomorrowland team for pulling off miracles — and to Metallica for coming through with the new stage parts…”
