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The dark side of the festival


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1 minute ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

JamboNelly's post is bullshit.

 I was close enough to tell you that it was a suicide. Sit in hedge and pour petrol over yourself kind of suicide. Left a huge number of lovely people really rather traumatised for the rest of the festival.

Re the original post, the festival is a whole lot safer and much less mental/hardcore than it was twenty and more years ago.

 Back in the day it felt and was really quite edgy and dangerous compared with today.

I've been to every Glastonbury since '85, lived on the road in the thick of it, seen the changes. These days the festival is like a Women's Institute tea party in comparison.

Thanks SS.

I started going in the late 90's and it was edgy as fuck then. Big groups of people selling drugs or mugging people. Todays festival is hugely sanatised compared to back then.

I honestly do feel we are a hairs breadth away from a serious incident in certain areas with over-crowding. This is also felt by senior members of the security team too.

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I actually visited the medical tent last year myself with a friend of mine who's a nurse, and we saw a curtain had been left open and there was a motionless person 'asleep' on one of the beds (the curtain had been left very slightly open). My friend was absolutely adamant that the person was dead, I can't remember her reasoning though. It might have been the tent's 'high priority' or 'intensive' section (whatever the correct term is), and she was saying that if the person was alive there's no way they would have been left unattended in that area.

I think it's more common than many think, but when you consider that Glasto is essentially the size of a small city population-wise, deaths aren't just more common than some think, but they should actually be expected, without trying to sound too callous. 

Edited by EamerRed
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7 minutes ago, incident said:

 

Having worked at Glastonbury and also other Festivals, I do think that Glastonbury is better than most when it comes to capability to respond to situations. I've been in a situation where I and my colleagues (with no medical training between us) have had to wait for approximately 6 hours for medics to respond to a call as they only had one crew to serve the entire 40,000 odd capacity event. Meanwhile we've got someone sat next to us unable to move (luckily we had chairs). Can't imagine that happening at Glastonbury.

I waited 2 hours in the cold dark and mud for any initial attention / transport to Frstival medical, and another 7 to get to an actual hospital. I consider that an appalling, third-world response given the circumstances and my health conditions, but compared to other festivals I know it's very good -doesn't mean it's acceptable though. 

(The bloke in a security tabard who initially rocked up to Kidney Mead to help had literally no clue where he was other than 'I can see the pyramid', despite having one of those detailed crew maps, which with hindsight was hilarious but at the time infuriating)

Edited by pie_and_a_pint
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36 minutes ago, Levitz said:

If there were deaths of any sort at Glastonbury surely they would be reported and there would be a coroners inquest. Apart from the poor guy before the festival last year (petrol incident) I don't recall anything being reported.....

There wasn't.

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11 minutes ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

I've been to every Glastonbury since '85, lived on the road in the thick of it, seen the changes. These days the festival is like a Women's Institute tea party in comparison.

Somewhere I read a great write up on the troubles of 1990 from the viewpoint of someone who was driving around the site doing a bit of tatting when it all started to kick off, it sounded like some 17th century battlefield.  Brilliantly written, I wish I could find it again.

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me and my friends were about ten metres away from the guy in 2014 who overdosed on Ketamin. We heard a big crash like someone had fallen in to the bins and when we turned around there was a man of about 20 yrs old coughing up blood. The services were on the scene within about five minutes - after we started shouting at staff to get over there and another passerby put him in the recovery position and stopped him swallowing his tongue - but realistically these things are complete freak accidents/incidents.

The glasto staff do an excellent job and they can't literally be everywhere at all times. Accidents/incidents will happen and it's all our responsibility to look out for each other and make sure everyone is okay. If you see someone who needs to calm it down cos they're too fucked DON'T MAKE A FUCKING VIDEO OR TAKE A FUCKING SELFIE and ask if they're okay and give them some water.

The mud is an issue sure but things like ligaments broken or a rolled ankle can happen but if that's the worse thing that happens then it's not even remotely as bad as losing your life or having a crowd of people filming you at the moment you're over doing it. If you see someone who looks like they need a hand or some water, please help them :D

 

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27 minutes ago, pie_and_a_pint said:

I waited 2 hours in the cold dark and mud for any initial attention / transport to Frstival medical, and another 7 to get to an actual hospital. I consider that an appalling, third-world response given the circumstances and my health conditions, but compared to other festivals I know it's very good -doesn't mean it's acceptable though. 

(The bloke in a security tabard who initially rocked up to Kidney Mead to help had literally no clue where he was other than 'I can see the pyramid', despite having one of those detailed crew maps, which with hindsight was hilarious but at the time infuriating)

Hinds tour manager suffered a burst appendix on site last year. He went to the medical centre in agony and they sent him away with a few painkillers. Next day appendix burst and was rushed to hospital - Hinds spent the night following their set in hospital with him. 

Carlotta explains it all here - http://www.carlottacosials.com/2016/06/soldados-cuerpo-tierra.html?m=1 (need to get the page translated)

The festival medical staff do a great job but I'd hate to have any sort of semi serious injury or illness on site due the logistics of getting medical attention. 

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At some point I want to talk with the newbies I'm going with about the different things they have to watch out for compared to other festivals, without freaking them out.

"Don't get run over, don't fall down the side of a path and break your ankle, don't fuckin', you know, die!"

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46 minutes ago, Spindles said:

Somewhere I read a great write up on the troubles of 1990 from the viewpoint of someone who was driving around the site doing a bit of tatting when it all started to kick off, it sounded like some 17th century battlefield.  Brilliantly written, I wish I could find it again.

After reading this I had a look at some old articles about 1990, and have been checking out some of the old maps. Where exactly was the travellers field? The maps at the bottom if you scroll down

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/glastonbury-festival-1990.html

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I've accompanied a friend to the medical tent and seen some of the casualties and spoken with the staff - there's a conveyor belt of very desperate people coming through there, and it's a bit sobering to see.  But to me that's just part and parcel of that many people having a good time in a field - the stats are probably no different to what you'd expect in any comparably-sized town.

However... the real dark side of the festival has yet to manifest itself: the dodgy transport arrangements.  It's only a matter of time before one of the vehicles which you see steaming along the railway line and other thoroughfares takes someone out.  When it does, the festival will be prosecuted and this will have major knock-on effects.  The festival requires a fairly lax approach to traffic management in order to keep the 'city' supplied, but their standards would be torn apart in a coroner's court.  I'd say this is the biggest threat to the festival right now - anyone that thinks the South East Corner late night crowd management arrangements were a bit draconian hasn't seen anything compared to what's going to have to be done to make the vehicle movements legally acceptable.  

As far as the era of 300,000-plus attendees is concerned, we're still in the honeymoon period: it will only take one or two serious incidents and changes will be forced on the festival which will transform it beyond all recognition.  Enjoy the current laissez-faire approach while you still can...

Edited by Mark E. Spliff
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30 minutes ago, Rubber Soldier said:

What a terrifying place it is. People die left right and centre and it's covered up. I saw a man literally starve to death in The Park field last year. 

That's nothing, I saw a man spontaneously combust just reading about Glastonbury in a newspaper. That said, I think he may have been a bit of an attention seeker, so not sure if it really counts.

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8 hours ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

JamboNelly's post is bullshit.

 I was close enough to tell you that it was a suicide. Sit in hedge and pour petrol over yourself kind of suicide. Left a huge number of lovely people really rather traumatised for the rest of the festival.

Re the original post, the festival is a whole lot safer and much less mental/hardcore than it was twenty and more years ago.

 Back in the day it felt and was really quite edgy and dangerous compared with today.

I've been to every Glastonbury since '85, lived on the road in the thick of it, seen the changes. These days the festival is like a Women's Institute tea party in comparison.

Absolutely this. But, and it is a big but, the crushes at times are now dangerous I think. I emailed the office about one particular incident I experienced and they were very forthcoming in their response. I think the only reason nothing terrible has happened is a combination of luck and the crowd not panicking. Anywhere else such crowds would be managed properly. I'm not quite sure why they are allowed to not manage them iyswim.

 

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15 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

Absolutely this. But, and it is a big but, the crushes at times are now dangerous I think. I emailed the office about one particular incident I experienced and they were very forthcoming in their response. I think the only reason nothing terrible has happened is a combination of luck and the crowd not panicking. Anywhere else such crowds would be managed properly. I'm not quite sure why they are allowed to not manage them iyswim.

 

I noticed how ridiculous the Pyramid crowd was last year when I tried to leave during Madness in the direction towards John Peel. No one was moving for a bit then there was a big push, people climbing on the ice cream van to get out. I nearly lost my feet a few times and it was scary especially since I lost my younger sister in it too.

Correct me if I'm wrong but there was a green fence up in this section of the field and I don't remember it being there before. Once I got out of the crowd near the long drops there was loads of empty space so it could've only been that fence causing a bottleneneck so it probably needs a rethink

Edit - just looked at the aerial photos and the fence probably has always been there due to the row of trees. Maybe it was something to do with queues at Mandela bar, I don't know but either way the crowd was ridiculous that day

Edited by kaytee...
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Wish I'd never read this thread, because it's so depressing. Ignorance is bliss!

But now I'm here, I may as well input- The incidents don't necessarily become public. I went to Reading in 2012, which was the first time I'd even been away from home without my parents, let alone first festival alone. On the first night,I was chatting to a couple of security guards, just asking how their shift was going.
They told me they wish they weren't there, as it was awful. They said 2 people had already died, and TWELVE people had been raped.
The festival had been open for only about 6 hours!

On the subject of Glastonbury, I have a few friends that work for a security company, who get put in at Glasto. Last year, one of them found 3 dead bodies, one of which was a suicide. He also had to deal with a fight, where someone pulled a knife on him.

Very sad, unfortunately.

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6 hours ago, Mark E. Spliff said:

 

However... the real dark side of the festival has yet to manifest itself: the dodgy transport arrangements.  It's only a matter of time before one of the vehicles which you see steaming along the railway line and other thoroughfares takes someone out.  When it does, the festival will be prosecuted and this will have major knock-on effects.  The festival requires a fairly lax approach to traffic management in order to keep the 'city' supplied, but their standards would be torn apart in a coroner's court.  I'd say this is the biggest threat to the festival right now

They have police and council H&S officials on site all week and this has all been signed off. If you read the full council review meeting notes, you'll see they do a very in-depth review of everything.

All large vehicles on the railway line have multiple stewards walking alongside with megaphones.

They would only be prosecuted for 'taking someone out' if it could be proved they weren't following the agreed H&S protocols for vehicle movements. Festival attendees have a personal responsibility just as they would on any normal public street. If you get knocked over because you weren't paying attention, that's not the festivals fault.

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9 hours ago, Spindles said:

Somewhere I read a great write up on the troubles of 1990 from the viewpoint of someone who was driving around the site doing a bit of tatting when it all started to kick off, it sounded like some 17th century battlefield.  Brilliantly written, I wish I could find it again.

What happened in 1990? I don't know the festival history- Certainly not from before my lifetime

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4 minutes ago, K2SO said:

 

But now I'm here, I may as well input- The incidents don't necessarily become public. I went to Reading in 2012, which was the first time I'd even been away from home without my parents, let alone first festival alone. On the first night,I was chatting to a couple of security guards, just asking how their shift was going.
They told me they wish they weren't there, as it was awful. They said 2 people had already died, and TWELVE people had been raped.
The festival had been open for only about 6 hours!
 

Security workers have a habit exaggerating and the rumours spread like wildfire.

Thinking about this it has reminded me of a time at Leeds when a security guard asked me to radio through for an ambulance for the main stage at Leeds (you can imagine the difficulties of that). When I asked him why, he said he had been stung by a wasp. :rofl:

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1 minute ago, barcelonista1899 said:

 

Security workers have a habit exaggerating and the rumours spread like wildfire.

Thinking about this it has reminded me of a time at Leeds when a security guard asked me to radio through for an ambulance for the main stage at Leeds (you can imagine the difficulties of that). When I asked him why, he said he had been stung by a wasp. :rofl:

It's just what I was told at the time. However, I do truly believe the one from my friend. His dad told me he had to have counselling to help him through the trauma.

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9 hours ago, simian_mobile_mushrooms said:

me and my friends were about ten metres away from the guy in 2014 who overdosed on Ketamin. We heard a big crash like someone had fallen in to the bins and when we turned around there was a man of about 20 yrs old coughing up blood. The services were on the scene within about five minutes - after we started shouting at staff to get over there and another passerby put him in the recovery position and stopped him swallowing his tongue - but realistically these things are complete freak accidents/incidents.

The glasto staff do an excellent job and they can't literally be everywhere at all times. Accidents/incidents will happen and it's all our responsibility to look out for each other and make sure everyone is okay. If you see someone who needs to calm it down cos they're too fucked DON'T MAKE A FUCKING VIDEO OR TAKE A FUCKING SELFIE and ask if they're okay and give them some water.

The mud is an issue sure but things like ligaments broken or a rolled ankle can happen but if that's the worse thing that happens then it's not even remotely as bad as losing your life or having a crowd of people filming you at the moment you're over doing it. If you see someone who looks like they need a hand or some water, please help them :D

 

Great post!

If you do see someone in serious trouble/in need of rapid medical assistance, is there a direct number whilst on site? In the booklet or anything? 

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1 hour ago, kaytee... said:

I noticed how ridiculous the Pyramid crowd was last year when I tried to leave during Madness in the direction towards John Peel. No one was moving for a bit then there was a big push, people climbing on the ice cream van to get out. I nearly lost my feet a few times and it was scary especially since I lost my younger sister in it too.

I've been caught in two bad crushes in this area over the years. Once in 2008 when accessing during Amy Winehouses set and then again in 2013 prior to the Stones.  Both situations were exacerbated by small groups of people suddenly deciding to push on through regardless. I could see people around us starting to panic. Easy to see how things can turn quickly in these scenarios.

I found it totally frightening and consequently we never enter the Pyramid field via that route for headliners, subs or where an act is likely to draw any reasonable crowd.

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