After a Mainstage fire nearly prevented Tomorrowland from starting on time, a 35-year-old attendee passed away on the first night.
A 35-year-old Canadian woman passed away after attending the first night of Tomorrowland, following a Mainstage fire that nearly prevented the Boom, Belgium festival from moving forward on schedule.
According to the Antwerp Public Prosecution Office, the woman fell ill on the festival site on the evening of Friday, July 18. Emergency services reportedly managed to resuscitate her, but she died later on at Antwerp University Hospital.
“The prosecutor’s office immediately launched an investigation,” reads a statement. “Initial findings indicate strong evidence of a drug-related death. An autopsy and a thorough toxicology examination will provide definitive answers.”
Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said, “Our condolences go out to her family and friends.” The festival’s organizers reportedly received word of the woman’s passing on Saturday morning.
There is no reported link between the fire that incinerated the Mainstage on Wednesday and the fatality that took place more than two days later. By sourcing a substitute stage from production elements stored in Austria for Metallica’s WorldWired Tour stop, organizers managed to safely open the festival’s gates on Friday afternoon.
From its relatively humble beginnings in 2005 as a festival of only 10,000 to its present form, which draws roughly 400,000 attendees across two weekends, Tomorrowland is one of the world’s most popular EDM festivals. The brand has also expanded to include gatherings abroad, such as Tomorrowland Brasil and Tomorrowland Winter in the French Alps.
Fatalities are an unfortunate reality of festivals as big as Tomorrowland, which welcomed some 70,000 attendees on Friday alone. At least five deaths of attendees and staff members have been reported at installments of the festival dating back to 2018.
We here at EDM Identity express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased during what can only be a difficult time.