Tomorrowland festival in Belgium has seen its characteristically striking main stage catch fire just 48 hours before the event is scheduled to begin but the event is set to go ahead.

The festival, which regularly attracts around 400,000 people from more than 200 countries, is set to take place over the weekends of 18-20 July and 25-27 July, with around 600 artists performing across 16 stages.

Videos on social media and local news site GV show Tomorrowland’s mainstage engulfed in flames. Around 1,000 workers were understood to be on site, and a large number of emergency service workers attended the scene, according to GVA.

In a statement on social media Tomorrowland’s organisers said the stage had been severely damaged but no one was injured during the incident and the festival’s DreamVille campsite will open tomorrow, 17 July.

They also said that “all Global Journey activities in Brussels and Antwerp will take place as planned”.

Tomorrowland was due to feature headliners including Armin van Buuren, Charlotte De Witte, Martin Garrix, Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta.

Since the first festival was staged in 2005 Tomorrowland has become firmly established as one of the world’s biggest festival brands, with multiple international events, a huge online community, and revenue streams stretching far beyond ticket sales to travel packages and an unusual merchandise line that encompasses a Tomorrowland novel series and even furniture.

Led by brothers Manu and Michiel Beers, Tomorrowland’s reach now extends to areas including artist management and booking, media (One World Radio), the Tomorrowland DJ Academy and fashion. There is also the charitable Tomorrowland Foundation, which has launched Tomorrowland Music and Arts Schools in India, Nepal and Brazil, while working with mobile schools in 30 countries.

At the heart of the operation remains the original Tomorrowland festival in Belgium, which started out as a 10,000 capacity one-day event, with performances by acts including Armin van Buuren and David Guetta. It has been expanded steadily over the years.

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