Tomorrowland 2026: Weekend One’s Fireworks Ban and the Fire Before It
Belgian authorities banned fireworks and pyrotechnics at Tomorrowland 2026 Weekend One over drought fire risk, ruling out drones and echoing the 2025 mainstage blaze.
Fire has shadowed Tomorrowland for two summers running. In 2025 it was literal, an ethanol spill that gutted the Orbyz mainstage two days before the gates opened. In 2026 it returned as a threat rather than a flame: with Belgium baking under drought conditions, local authorities barred the festival from firing a single pyrotechnic across Weekend One. That is how the world’s biggest dance festival ended up running its first 2026 weekend, from 17 to 19 July, under a fireworks ban.
What the ban actually covered
The order came from the mayors of Boom and Rumst together with provincial governor Cathy Berx, acting on advice from the fire brigade. Belgium sat under Code Orange, the second-highest wildfire alert, which discourages anything that could spark a blaze in parched nature reserves. The restriction ran across the whole of Weekend One and covered both the De Schorre festival site in Boom and the nearby Dreamville campsite in Rumst, where thousands of ticket-holders sleep.
No easy substitute
Fireworks are woven into Tomorrowland’s closing ritual, and there was no clean workaround. Drones, the obvious modern stand-in, were ruled out because the site sits too close to an airport. Organisers also made clear they had been left out of the decision entirely.
We also find it very regrettable that we had to learn this through the media.
The line came from Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen, who confirmed the festival had not been consulted before the ban was announced.
An uncomfortable echo of 2025
The timing carries a strange symmetry. Last July a fire tore through the Orbyz mainstage during testing, reportedly after ethanol was spilled onto the structure while crews checked the fire bowls. That edition only went ahead because Metallica loaned touring stage parts at short notice. A year on, fire has again dictated what happens on Tomorrowland’s biggest weekend, this time by keeping the sky dark.
Weekend Two still open
A ruling on pyrotechnics for Weekend Two, 24 to 26 July, will be taken closer to the date, with organisers saying they will keep consulting the fire brigade. If the heat breaks and Belgium drops below Code Orange, the fireworks could yet return for the festival’s second run.
Techno Airlines view: a mainstage without its fireworks is still a mainstage, and Weekend One’s closing sets proved there was no shortage of spectacle. The lasting story here is not pyro, it is climate. As European summers turn hotter and drier, festival production teams across the calendar may need a plan B that does not depend on open flame.
More coverage: Tomorrowland on Techno Airlines and our wider festival guide.
Sources: DJ Mag, EDM.com, We Rave You, Beatportal.
