More than 22,000 people have been evacuated from a Spanish festival after a massive fire, local emergency services have said.

Dramatic video footage shows the stage at the Tomorrowland Unite Spain festival engulfed by flames as festivalgoers can be seen running away from the blaze.

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Eyewitnesses described how the stage 'just exploded' as heavy black plumes of smoke billowed into the crowd.

Revellers reported seeing a section of the stage ignited by pyrotechnics.

A video shared on social media captures the moment the speaker system was engulfed in fire.

The Barcelona event, which was expected to run until 3am, was reportedly stopped at 10.15pm local time (9.15pm UK time).

The fire was contained in just over half an hour but firefighters warned there was a risk the stage might collapse the Mirror reports.

In a statement the organisers said the blaze was caused by a "technical malfunction".

"Tonight, July 29th 2017, the UNITE Barcelona stage caught fire due to a technical malfunction. Thanks to the professional intervention of the authorities all 22.000 visitors were evacuated safely and without reports of injuries.

"Authorities will follow up and continue the investigation with the local Spanish organizer of UNITE," the statement read.

The blaze broke out hours before Steve Aoki was set to headline the event which is one of the most popular music festivals in the world.

Several ambulances and up to 11 fire trucks rushed to the site however the Director General of Civil Protection in Catalunya posted on Twitter that no injuries had yet been reported.

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