Metallica help to rebuild Tomorrowland stage with new parts following devastating fire
After a colossal fire tore through the main stage at Tomorrowland, the festival rebuilt a new stage almost overnight, with a little help from their friends, Metallica.
The Orbyz stage caught fire on the evening of July 16th. The blaze was huge, and videos quickly went viral online, but thankfully, no injuries were reported.
The festival issued an initial statement mourning the loss of the stage, saying in part, “This wasn’t just a stage. It was a living, breathing world. From the very first sketch on a blank page to countless hours of conceptual design, artistic collaboration, engineering, crafting, and building, every single piece of Orbyz carried part of our soul.”
On July 18th, only two hours before gates officially opened, the festival announced that it would proceed as normal with an “alternative setup for the beloved main stage.”
According to reports from Belgian news outlet HLN, the Tomorrowland team had a key confidant helping them with their massive overnight effort. Parts of the stage used in Metallica’s WorldWired tour saved the festival from cancellation.
The stage parts were stored in Austria following the European leg of the Metallica tour. Reportedly, they were air-lifted to the festival overnight.
Martin Garrix, who performed at the festival on the eve of July 18th, confirmed the story and shared a thank you to Metallica on Instagram. In his post, he added an image of himself alongside drummer Lars Ulrich, writing, “I can not believe I’m actually typing this… but my set at Tomorrowland is still happening!”
The DJ added, “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…”
Later, he added a video to his story depicting a tremendous crowd dancing in the dark to his set at the main stage. His entire set was streamed.
Alok, Martin Garrix, Axwell, Anyma, Charlotte de Witte, Nicky Romero, Fisher and David Guetta are a selection of the names also playing The Orbyz this weekend.
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