Advertisement

20,000 flee large fire at Tomorrowland music festival in Barcelona

An image from a video shows flames engulfing the outdoor stage at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Barcelona.
An image from a video shows flames engulfing the outdoor stage at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Barcelona.
(David Belmonte / AP)
Share via

A huge fire at a music festival in Spain forced the evacuation of over 20,000 concertgoers and incinerated the event’s stage in Barcelona, the regional government said Sunday.

The fire Saturday night consumed the large outdoor stage at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival held at Barcelona’s Parc de Can Zam. Twelve firefighting units needed about an hour to extinguish the flames just before midnight.

Firefighters said they were investigating the cause. The Tomorrowland website published a statement saying the “stage caught fire due to a technical malfunction.”

Advertisement

Barcelona firefighters said there were no serious injuries during the evacuation, but the event’s private security treated 20 people for minor injuries or anxiety.

Video images show the fire starting at the top of a tall temporary structure erected onstage where a large screen showed a performer singing. The towering flames quickly spread until they engulfed the entire stage.

In a statement, regional authorities said the fire “completely destroyed the stage” and that its charred remains “run the risk of collapsing.”

Advertisement

The festival in Barcelona was one of several offshoots of a main Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. Organizers said the Barcelona event was canceled following the fire.

ALSO

Advertisement

U.S. elections are an easier target for Russian hackers than once thought

Charlie Gard, child at center of court battle over his end-of-life treatment, dies in London

Hamburg stabbing suspect was suspected of being radicalized and was known to be mentally unstable, authorities say


UPDATES:

5:10 a.m.: Updated with details and quotes.

This article was first published at 12:50 a.m.

Advertisement