Image Source: Nunes dos Anjos
Just two days before gates open, Tomorrowland has been hit with an unexpected restriction: no fireworks during the festival’s opening weekend. Local authorities in Boom and neighboring Rumst, where the festival’s Dreamville campsite is located, cited an ongoing drought and heightened wildfire risk as the reasoning behind the decision, which was made jointly by the two towns’ mayors alongside the governor of Antwerp Province following a safety review.
What’s turned this into a story beyond just a weather-driven precaution is how organisers found out. According to festival spokesperson Debby Wilmsen, Tomorrowland’s team learned of the ban through news coverage rather than any direct communication from local officials, and neither the festival nor its pyrotechnics team were consulted before the call was made. Wilmsen also ruled out swapping in a drone show as an alternative, explaining that the venue’s proximity to a nearby airport makes flying drones there legally impossible. 
The timing only adds to the tension. The ban lands almost exactly a year after a fire destroyed Tomorrowland’s Orbyz mainstage just 48 hours before the 2025 festival began, a disaster recently attributed to an accidental ethanol spill by a subcontractor. With safety already a sensitive subject for organisers this year, losing fireworks, long a signature closing moment of the festival, is an unwelcome wrinkle right as Tomorrowland tries to reassure both fans and local residents. Officials have said the ban applies to the first weekend only, though a similar restriction for the second weekend hasn’t been ruled out.
