Advertisement

Longitude organisers apologise after reports of chaotic scenes at festival

The organisers of Longitude have apologised after reports of chaotic scenes at the Dublin fe...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.02 15 Jul 2017


Share this article


Longitude organisers apologise...

Longitude organisers apologise after reports of chaotic scenes at festival

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.02 15 Jul 2017


Share this article


The organisers of Longitude have apologised after reports of chaotic scenes at the Dublin festival site yesterday.

The three-day festival in Marlay Park got underway yesterday.

However, festival goers shared images of jam-packed queues as they tried to access the concert.

Advertisement

Promoters yesterday said the delays were caused by" additional security measures" in place for the event.

Emma Broughan, who was at the festival yesterday, told Newstalk she was stuck in a line for "close to two hours" after being separated from her friends.

She explained: "We got no bag checks, no ticket checks, anything."

Emma said that when she was near the front of the queue, the crowd pushed forward and a number of people fell - including herself when she tried to help another girl.

She observed: "It was pretty much just up to the general public who were standing around to run over and try and help pull people out."

In a public statement today, Melvin Benn - managing director of Festival Republic - said: "The opening hour of yesterday's entry was not what I wanted. We had encouraged people to arrive early and they heeded the encouragement to a greater level than anticipated making that first hour difficult and I owe those caught up in it an apology.

"However, every single person caught up in the shock of the uncomfortable start was able to continue into the concert and enjoy the day despite that. As you would anticipate, my teams have worked throughout the night to improve the entry for today and tomorrow so everyone can enjoy Longitude at its best."

Responding to the apology, Emma said: "I was supposed to go Friday, Saturday and Sunday - I can't go today or tomorrow even though I spent €200 on a ticket. Because of my job and the physicality of it I'm not going to be able to go to work either [on Monday]."

Today's events get underway from 2pm, with The Weeknd headlining the Saturday line-up.

Mumford & Sons will close out the festival on Sunday night.


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular