Tomorrowland will go ahead on Friday, organisers confirmed at a press conference on Thursday evening, following the fire that destroyed the Main Stage two days before the electronic dance music festival was due to begin.

The cause of Wednesday's fire is still unknown. Organisers are working on two scenarios to allow the event to go ahead, both of which involve the festival opening at 14.00 instead of 12.00 on Friday.

The first involves building a new main stage and opening at full capacity on Friday. However, they are still in consultation to ensure this can be done safely.

If that scenario is not possible, the Dreamville campsite and the main festival ground will operate as two separate sites. Dreamville will host the acts scheduled to perform on the Main Stage, accessible only to those camping there, while the main festival ground will be open to all other ticket holders.

“We are continuing, we are continuing 100%,” festival spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told the press conference in Boom. “It’s exactly 24 hours after our Main Stage caught fire. We are still very shaken by it. But we have received an incredible number of messages of support.”

The decision to allow the festival to proceed was made in consultation with the mayor of Boom, Jeroen Baert of N-VA.

“We have had extensive discussions with the fire brigade and the police and have received safety guarantees from the organisers,” Baert said. “We have therefore decided to allow the festival to go ahead, provided that sufficient guarantees are in place.”

The event is expected to continue as planned from 12.00 on Saturday.

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Festival-goers arrive at the Dreamville campsite