©Ben Conaerts Freedom Stage from Tomorrowland Evacuated during Neighborhood Festival

As the second weekend of Tomorrowland makes preparations to begin, it is uncertain if the ‘Freedom Stage’ will be operational.

The massive structure hosted the Eric Prydz ‘Holosphere’ during the first weekend & is scheduled to host A State Of Trance during the second weekend. Artists such as Kryder, Benny Benassi, & Axwell are also scheduled to perform on the tented stage. See stage lineup here.

At the time of the incident, many local residents & party goers were inside the tent to escape the heat during the ‘Neighborhood Party’. Part of the ceiling poles holding lighting fixtures & the LED wall cracked & subsequently fell. It is unknown as to the exact reason why the structure failed, however some speculate a combination of heat & stage weight are to blame. Emergency personnel immediatey evacuated the stage with no reported deaths or injuries to guests. Eye witness, Liev Van Dyck stated to HLN

“A few people were shocked, mainly because of the noise, but the security people had everything under control…”

Tomorrowland spokeswoman Debby Wilmsen stated

“Around noon a part of the ceiling of the covered Freedom Stage has sagged. To be able to repair this, the tent will be closed to the visitors of Tomorrowland. The locals event will take place on another part of the site.”

So far, there is no risk of the stage being closed for weekend 2 as the stage is already in the process of being fixed. EDMTunes will monitor the story & report any updates.

[H/T] to HLN for being the first to cover the incident.