Tomorrowland 2026 Weekend 1 Hit With First-Ever Fireworks Ban Over Drought and Heat

Tomorrowland 2026 Weekend 1 Hit With First-Ever Fireworks Ban Over Drought and Heat

Tomorrowland Belgium 2026 Weekend 1, running 17-19 July at De Schorre in Boom, Belgium, has been ordered to stop using all fireworks and pyrotechnics, with stage fireworks banned for the first time. The festival had already committed to dropping large shell fireworks before this. The order came from local authorities, not from the festival itself.

The decision was issued by Boom mayor Jeroen Baert, Rumst mayor Jurgen Callaerts, and Antwerp provincial governor Cathy Berx, on advice from the fire brigade. The main reason is ongoing drought combined with intense heat that leaves the festival grounds at fire risk. At the time of the order, the area sat at code orange, which lets local authorities use their discretion to ban fireworks. The claim that a code red would trigger an automatic ban comes from EDMTunes and has not been confirmed across other sources.

Using drones in place of fireworks is also off the table. A festival spokesperson said the grounds are near an airport, so drones cannot be used.

What Both Sides Say

The festival voiced disappointment with the order. Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said the organization learned about it through the media, without any consultation with the festival or its fireworks experts before the order came down.

Local authorities tell it differently. Mayor Jurgen Callaerts denied that account, insisting the festival was informed right after the final decision was made.

The 2025 Mainstage Fire and the 2026 Safety Review

The order follows the fire at Tomorrowland’s Mainstage around two days before the 2025 event. No one was injured. Initial findings reportedly point to the fire starting during a test of a fire bowl, a large decorative fixture, with flammable fuel spilling. This is not yet an official conclusion.

For 2026, the festival passed an independent safety review, which rated the risk as low to moderate.

What Livestream Fans Should Know

What is gone from Weekend 1 is the signature fireworks that close out each night, one of Tomorrowland’s most memorable highlights. Everything else, the stages, production, and lineup, remains as planned.

One thing to keep clear: this order only covers Weekend 1 on 17-19 July. Weekend 2 on 24-26 July has not had any fireworks decision made yet.