A Biffy Clyro fan was left stranded in what she described as “absolute chaos” after trying to leave the car park following the band’s recent gig in Edinburgh. The Scottish rock band, formed in Kilmarnock in 1995, consists of lead singer Simon Neil and twin brothers James and Ben Johnston on bass guitar and drums.
Headline performance at Royal Highland Centre
The band headlined the opening night of the Edinburgh Summer Sessions festival series in the grounds of the Royal Highland Centre Showgrounds on Friday, August 21, with support from Nothing But Thieves and Swim School. Biffy Clyro performed hits including The Captain, Mountains, Black Chandelier, and Biblical to a packed crowd.
The Royal Highland Centre is Scotland’s largest indoor and outdoor venue, welcoming more than one million visitors per year. However, after the show ended, many fans found themselves stuck for far longer than expected when trying to leave.
Fan documents exit ordeal
Journalist Abigail Nicholson documented her and her partner’s efforts to leave after the show, posting footage on TikTok. Speaking to the camera, she said: “We’ve just got out of Biffy Clyro at the Royal Highland Showground in Edinburgh, so we’re gonna see how long it takes us to get out of the car park. We’ve currently been in for about 10, 15 minutes and it is five minutes to 11[pm], so let’s see how long it takes to get out.”
Nicholson continued to provide updates as they slowly moved towards the exit. She said: “So it’s been about 20 minutes now, and the only reason that we’ve moved is because it is basically a free-for-all for everyone. Going out west is just absolute chaos, I’ll show you.”
She then panned the camera to show the congested build-up of cars. She added: “So that’s supposed to be the only way out ahead where we’re going here, but everyone’s just having a free-for-all going up that way. I don’t even know if we’re able to get out that way, but we’ll see how we go.”
Over an hour to exit
The clip then cut to “an hour after the show ended” with Nicholson and her partner still stuck. She said: “I tell you now, there is one steward that is single-handedly getting every single person home. He is incredible. We’ve moved… about 100 yards in the last 45 minutes. But he has been doing incredible stuff.”
Nicholson confirmed they finally got out of the car park at 11.48pm, with their crawl towards the exit taking more than an hour.
In the comments section, fellow TikTok users and Biffy Clyro fans shared their experiences. One person said: “It took us five minutes.” Nicholson replied: “I’m so jealous.” Another commented: “Nah cause it took us like 20 mins to get out the car park and we RAN from the stage to the west car park, eventually had to just go in the opposite direction we were being told to do cause the line wasn’t moving. We were back at our car for 10.43.”
A third said: “Took us ages! Then we had to drive to Sunderland. Finally pulled on the drive at 2am.” While a fourth added: “The show was incredible last night but getting there and home was absolutely horrible.” Someone else said: “The only reason I didn’t go last night lol. Getting out of the Royal Highland Showground is not for the weak.”
