Seven people were taken to hospital following a crowd surge at this weekend’s Boardmasters festival in Newquay, although organisers and local police were keen to stress that those impacted only incurred minor injuries.
Nevertheless, some festival-goers told reporters that they witnessed “carnage”, experienced considerable pain when injured during the incident, and subsequently left the event because of the distress they had experienced. All of which has led some ticket-buyers to question the decision of organisers to increase the festival’s capacity this year.
The crowd surge occurred on Friday evening ahead of a set by DJ Sammy Virji, which was cancelled in response to the incident. In a statement, the local police force confirmed it had been notified about what it dubbed a “crowd collapse” at the festival which had “left a small number of attendees injured”.
However, police were keen to dispel some of the rumours that had spread about the crowd issues. “Contrary to speculation, we can confirm that there have been no deaths as a result of this incident”, they said, adding, “This is an isolated incident and the festival continues”.
Promoters of Boardmasters issued a statement on Saturday revealing that “seven attendees were transferred to hospital nearby for precautionary examination” after being seen by the festival’s own medical team. “They have since been treated for minor injuries and have all since been discharged”, it added.
Despite both the promoter and the police being keen to play down the scale of the crowd surge, a number of festival-goers have spoken to reporters describing the distress they experienced and, in some cases, criticising the event’s security and crowd management.
One teenager caught up in the crowd surge told Sky News that he was near the stage ahead of Virji’s set “when loads of people came in, I was pushed and fell on my back, with my leg twisted. It was hyperextended. It was incredibly painful and I couldn’t get up. There were people on top of me and I was on top of other people”.
Another affected festival-goer told the BBC, “There was definitely not enough security to handle the surge. They were only on the stage and not in the crowd. They kept asking people to move back. It was unbelievable. It’s not what you would expect to happen at a festival”.
Noting that organisers have increased the capacity of the festival this year and plan another increase for next year, the festival-goer continued, “I just don’t think the space and capacity was big enough this year and it just made it unsafe for the people”.
Some of those impacted by the crowd surge but not injured nevertheless left the festival early. The parent of another festival-goer spoke to BBC Radio Cornwall, saying his son had called him at 10.30pm on Friday night after being impacted by the crowd surge. The festival-goer was “distressed about what happened’, the parent explained, adding, “they just decided to come home because they’re not sure if it’s going to happen again today”.
There was an albeit smaller incident during Sam Fender’s set on Saturday, which resulted in the musician pausing his performance. However, a spokesperson for the festival said, “Tonight’s headline set was paused by the artist as fans signalled they required medical assistance for minor issues. These were responded to swiftly and the show resumed”.
Virgji also issued a statement following the incident saying he was “gutted” that his set was cancelled, but that “safety should always come first”. He added, “The stoppage was completely out of my hands and hope you all understand the festival needed to prioritise everyone's wellbeing. Hopefully catch you all soon at another set”.