Council to investigate Boardmasters crowd surge that left fans hospitalised

NME

Cornwall Council have launched a formal investigation into the Boardmasters crowd surge that left some festival-goers hospitalised.

On Friday (August 9), a “massive crowd surge” at the Newquay festival “left a small number of attendees injured”, according to Devon & Cornwall Police. It was described by police at the time as an “isolated incident”, and it was confirmed that “none of the injuries [were] considered serious”, although seven were taken to hospital.

The five-day festival took place last weekend in the Cornish town, with Sam Fender, Stormzy and Chase & Status topping the bill.

An update: pic.twitter.com/nUxVBwM0YS

— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 10, 2024

If you need to speak to us, you can get in touch by emailing boardmasters@visionninegroup.com. pic.twitter.com/Lj5yFEmizr

— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 11, 2024

Now, the local council have confirmed that a public protection investigation had been launched into the events, and that they would not “comment further while this investigation is ongoing” (via BBC).

The surge occurred at the festival’s The Point stage ahead of a performance by DJ Sammy Virji, which was due to begin at 20:30 on Friday, but which was eventually cancelled.

Festival organisers have said that “experiences pit management and security teams” were in place “across the festival”, but there have been reports of attendees falling to the ground and being trampled.

One woman who was there with her daughters described seeing the “carnage” and finding a boy who was “really badly hurt”.

“There were kids everywhere,” she added. “There were kids crying, there were kids holding their legs, there were kids being carried.”

Another teen described being pushed to the ground “with my leg twisted”, resulting in a hyperextension. “It was incredibly painful, and I couldn’t get up,” he added. “There were people on top of me, and I was on top of other people.”

Since then, Devon & Cornwall Police reported that 11 people had been arrested at the festival, with charges relating to drug offences, sexual offences and assault.

Three people were charged in connection with drug offences, with four people being released on bail. Two people were cautioned, and another two people were released with no further action.

Superintendent Russell Dawe addressed the surge by saying: “Unfortunately, we did have an incident in the crowd on Friday 9 August which resulted in some people being injured. Most of these were treated by medical staff on site but seven were transferred to hospital from the event. All were discharged after treatment.”

He added: “We recognise how such events can cause concern for those involved, especially with those that received injuries, and so it will be our priority to ensure the incident will be considered as part of our planned debrief after the event.”

Dawe went on to say that Devon & Cornwall Police had “disrupted criminality and the supply of drugs, reduced anti-social behaviour, and supported any victims of crime or those with vulnerabilities”.

One 16-year-old told the BBC that the festival “should be 10 times smaller”, particularly given Boardmasters got permission to increase its capacity by thousands this year, bringing the attendance to an estimated 58,000 people. He said the large crowd around him “fell like dominos”.

“The crowd was claustrophobic,” he said. “I couldn’t really move and when the crowd surge fell, a guy landed on my ankle. I asked him to get off me, but he couldn’t because of hundreds of people on top of him.”

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