Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn has dismissed concerns about overcrowding and safety at the Irish festival, calling suggestions for improvements 'bonkers' after a crowd collapse forced a DJ to cancel his set.
The festival, held over the weekend in Ireland, welcomed an estimated 80,000 fans to see headliners Lewis Capaldi, Gorillaz and Fontaines D.C. However, attendees reported a 'crowd collapse' on Friday ahead of Armand Van Helden's performance on one of the smaller stages. There were also issues surrounding Duke Dumont's Saturday set, which saw crowds several rows deep outside the tent itself.
Festival boss responds to criticism
'Quite frankly, I don't think it could have gone better,' Benn said of the capacity questions, adding there was 'no real drama'. The Festival Republic boss claimed the suggestions of crowd control and safety improvements were 'bonkers'.
Of Van Helden's set, he added: 'We stopped it immediately as soon as we could see a crowd collapse.' The American DJ ended up having to cancel the scheduled 90-minute performance as arriving fans clashed with those trying to leave. The result was a crowd collapse, where people fall due to pressure and overcrowding, with one music fan calling it 'total mayhem'.
Witness describes 'total mayhem'
Aoife McKenna told The Journal: 'Something happened in the middle and the crowd fell over in a split second all landing on top of each other. Then to make matters worse, the crowd kept coming from outside in.'
There was an announcement over speakers and screens in the area confirming the set had been cancelled. 'I don't know why the crowd collapsed at that point, but the moment that it did, we stopped it,' Benn stated. 'We had medics there. We had security there. We stopped Armand van Helden going on stage. He hadn't even got on stage at that point in time.'
Alerts were also sent via the app in an attempt to deter fans from seeing Duke Dumont on Saturday at the Electric Arena tent. While it was reported the crowd didn't feel unsafe, it was noted that by midway through the set, the tent was full and the crowd outside was several rows deep.
Fans vent frustration online
Fans online have voiced their exasperation at big DJs being put on smaller stages, not reflecting a large portion of the crowd who come for the dance music. RojoMusicMan on X vented: 'Once again, EPfestival not having the foresight to put Armand van Helden on a bigger stage. Too many people turn up for a tiny venue and the gig gets pulled. Fatboy slim at salty dog last year. Embarrassing.'
Benn refuted any issues and said the festival was 'in a really good place in terms of how we handle crowds.' Electric Picnic's current capacity is around 80,000 guests, having risen from 70,000 in 2023. It started out as a much smaller 10,000-capacity festival in 2004.
