Pyramid Crush during Gorrilaz

[sifi]

So I think I know what the problem is.

[Jackmypie]

try being right at the front of the pyramid for muse, crowed kep pushing each other, one guy fell over and got trampled on. He got helped up though. Thats nothing compare to muse. I got out really fast for gorillaz to actually, I was right at the front again and just left like 5 mins earlier. and easily got out to the right of the pyramid :S

[Jackmypie]

try being right at the front of the pyramid for muse, crowed kept pushing each other, one guy fell over and got trampled on. He got helped up though. Thats nothing compare to muse. I got out really fast for gorillaz to actually, I was right at the front again and just left like 5 mins earlier. and easily got out to the right of the pyramid :S

[GingerRock]

We got stuck in gridlock trying to get into the Gorillaz from the Mandela bar area. The problem seemed to be that people found they couldn't get any further so they just stopped where they were and watched from there, meaning the crowd just got denser and denser.

Edited July 5, 2010 by GingerRock

[greenfairy43]

This year is the first time I've seen all 3 Pyramid headliners. We were near the far right mid field speaker. Plenty of room. After the gigs we just waited for the crowds to disperse before setting off. Far less hectic than I'd have ever imagined.

[gizmoman]

We got stuck in gridlock trying to get into the Gorillaz from the Mandela bar area. The problem seemed to be that people found they couldn't get any further so they just stopped where they were and watched from there, meaning the crowd just got denser and denser.

We managed to push up the side of the field by the hedge and some way back (just past the speaker pylons) got into the field quite easily and had plenty of space.

Of course we could see heck all from here because of the idiots with flags but that's another story.

There were 25000 more people this year and only one Pyramid stage, despite all the extra camping (?) and the Park, etc. During the football on the Sunday, which removed about 50k people from the site, the rest of the site was quite relaxed. So I think I know what the problem is.

[llcoolphil]

This year is the first time I've seen all 3 Pyramid headliners. We were near the far right mid field speaker. Plenty of room. After the gigs we just waited for the crowds to disperse before setting off. Far less hectic than I'd have ever imagined.

[budvar]

There was a similar situation between Faithless and Stevie. After Faithless we left that front section by heading to the right of the stage towards the John Peel. We were stood still for about 5 minutes and then clearly the people at the back got bored and we found ourselves being shoved out in one giant maul. It wasn't the worst crush I'd ever been in but a lot of the people trying to come in were panicking and becoming aggressive; saw one man get a drink thrown in his face and a lot of people shouting at each other...

Seemed ironic that it was all a result of that second barrier...

[r0cky]

I had no trouble getting out after Faithless to the extent that me and naomi managed a waz, some food and a gentle amble round to the other stage for Orbital.

[Guitargeek4]

I was coming in from the other stage side to the front for gorillaz and muse. For gorillaz i got separated from all but one of my friends, then we made our way back a little and space just seemed to open up everywhere! Crazy!! At one point we decided to get a bit closer, maybe halfway through? We simply walked through a massive gap to the second barrier. For muse we got there for the end of SS (that was fecking awful) to get a better place. Even worse then, mainly because some clever clogs decided that setting up their chairs, ice boxes and flags right at the very front of the 2nd biggest act playing over the whole weekend would be a really sound idea. This caused loads of people to fall over. Still nowhere near as bad as RATM at reading or metallica at sonisphere though, just less expected/necessary at glasto.

[adamski]

I wandered in to see gorillaz after the bees had finished in the queens head, got pretty close in tight at the front, watched about 5 songs, got bored, wandered off again! No crushes at all down the front!

On the thursday I was at the queens head for local natives and it was totally crowded just outside the tent, no room to move at all, and I was getting quite intimate with the surrounding people! But once you'd got inside it was fine, plenty of space. Some people just see a big crowd and join it!

[BlackHole2006]

The crush leaving Stevie was prettey scary and embarrasing at the same time.

I was literally inbetween to people stuck there for a while whilst my mate was making some terrible attempt to chat up a girl then afterwards boasted that she invited him back to her tent which was clearly untrue

[ilovelanegan]

We got caught in the mega-crush to the right front of the Pyramid a couple of songs into Gorillaz. We had come from the JP after black keys and tried to get a spec but got stuck not far in and being shortarses we only lasted the first song before realising we wouldn't be able to see or hear anything for the whole gig and should just get out. It was murder - complete gridlock, people shoving to get in and out and a bit hairy, some people getting very anxious and upset. Took us a good ten-fifteen minutes to break out into any kind of breathing space near the Mandela bar, but not before some guys near us started fighting. How helpful.

Definitely needs a look at - the gap there is really quite narrow, I noticed a similar situation there last year for Dizzee but thankfully I was on the other side and just stayed out of it - instead of squashing into the crowd I had a little sit down and listened with a nice fresh pint from Mandela bar, much more civilised!

Also noticed big crushes between Faithless and Stevie but we'd already planned to stay near the back for that, after our Gorillaz squash experience. It did seem this year that the crowding on the Pyramid field was pretty random though - what's that about??

[Johnny Mac]

Lots of crushes at the pyramid stage, the right hand side of it seemed the worst, so I simply avoided it and watched other stuff.

It was pretty horrible for Stevie Wonder.

It was great for Slash when everyone was off watching the football though.

[tevaburger]

I had no trouble getting out after Faithless to the extent that me and naomi managed a waz, some food and a gentle amble round to the other stage for Orbital.

I blame all seater stadiums and the subsequent lack of match practice people have for being jostled in big crowds

[rhysieg]

didnt experience a crush at all?????

i left towards the john peel aswell, we even managed to meet back up with a lost companion. didnt seem packed to me.... i was right at the front right of stage as scissor sisters finished before muse on saturday, now that was a crush, so many people crying and desperatly climbing over the barriers... i made it to the front in good spirits though and muse were awesome, could see them all right on stage infront of me, never been that close to a band ever, never mind a headliner, but i was determined. crowd crushes never frighten me for some reason... (i know some people really dislike them) but what can you expect for headliners???

if you dislike crowd crushes, theres only 1 way to go about it, give the pyramid a wide birth at peak times.

[llcoolphil]

true to a point. If you've experienced Wembley Stadium or Milton Keynes Bowl in the 1980's, a bit of a crowd at Glastonbury isn't much, even in an advanced age.

[llcoolphil]

if you dislike crowd crushes, theres only 1 way to go about it, give the pyramid a wide birth at peak times.

[ollyh]

Yep, I was on that side of the crush as well. People were piling in as Gorrilaz started, but there was no where for them to go, so people just got more and more crushed.

We managed to worm our way out, and watched from near the Mandela bar.

[Spindles]

I personally haven't seen a really bad crush since '99 (when someone had the poor judgement to change a gas bottle inside a tent and then blew themselves up, right by the pyramid) and I know how unnerving it can be to be so packed together. I would say, however, that I left gorillaz by the back way and it was quiet when I walked (heading towards jp) and similarly I left faithless at the end of their set and again, found a quiet route with no issues.

My answer has always been, if you see a huge number of people shuffling, don't add to that number, look for another route. I prefer longer routes with clearer ground than shuffling with the sheep (no offense there, but you know what I mean).

The volume of people leaving muse heading right out of the stage towards babylon looked pretty heavy to me, so we cut through them, grabbed a crepe and parked our asses til the numbers dwindled, then headed back off again on our merry way.

[Bristol Boy]

I can't believe a few people are making light of this thread. Whilst I had no crushes this year and saw all three headliners, I was caught up in the Amy/Jay Z crush in 2008 and that was as bad as anything I've been through of 25 years of gigs and football matches, including in my younger moshing days!

There do seem to be some fairly narrow exits/entrances to the Pyramid and once it gets dark people are far less able to see where there might be gaps in the distance so tend mot to try to move further in. We were not far behind the sound desk for both Gorillaz and Muse and no heavy crowds at all, bit worse for Stevie.

It would help if the pathways were kept clear - by the time of Muse the chair sitters has spread well out of the arena onto the path which starts to slow everything down. Not sure if a one way system could be brought in for that final change of the night, making people come in from the cider bus and out the other side.

Although it happened in different circumstances we don't want a Roskilde....

[crimsonking]

So if you hate the Gorillaz and Damon Albarn so much what the f**k were you doing watching them? There is so much to see and do at Glasto why go see something you don't like? I can only think that you're one of those miserable bastards who just like complaining.

[Spindles]

It's fair comment Bristol boy, I personally was just pointing out that at the same place and within a short time period there was no problem, which suggests that either by natural order or intervention from stewards the issue was resolved in a timely manner. The amount of organisational staff employed at glastonbury MUST be about the highest among festivals worldwide (20,000 staff employed to assist 177,500 punters this year, be interesting to see the ratio at reading ) and therefore it should be among the safest.

I agree that this is something that shouldn't be taken lightly, however my experience with crowd management at glastonbury is that they got their sh1t together in 2002 and have just been improving ever since.

[Josie's Cat]

A really horribly uncomfortable experience for me and my friends! We just wanted to get back to our tents, didn't want to hear the horrible droning. Angry, defensive, packed out crowd during which we were pushed and pulled and completely stuck. Someone started tunneling through and a woman went spitting mental at us because her kids were there... I can understand that she may have been panicking in the crush (I was close and I didn't have kids down there) but people really really need to stop bringing their kids near the front for headliners. The darkness only adds to confusion and disorientation and it becomes a bit of a horrible experience sometimes.

I totally agree with this - and I speak as someone who ventured down to the mixing desk for Muse with my two but then realised before the band came on it was a bloody silly idea and we left through the least crowded way possible. People were very good and made way for us to leave, but there is no way a kid should be near the front or in any of those crowds. In fact, I think it might be a good idea to have a 'family viewing area' for the main stages, or a kiddie curfew or something.

Lots of the festival after dark is in no way suitable for children to be around, too busy, too many wrecked people, too unpredictable.

[Bristol Boy]

It's fair comment Bristol boy, I personally was just pointing out that at the same place and within a short time period there was no problem, which suggests that either by natural order or intervention from stewards the issue was resolved in a timely manner. The amount of organisational staff employed at glastonbury MUST be about the highest among festivals worldwide (20,000 staff employed to assist 177,500 punters this year, be interesting to see the ratio at reading ) and therefore it should be among the safest.

I agree that this is something that shouldn't be taken lightly, however my experience with crowd management at glastonbury is that they got their sh1t together in 2002 and have just been improving ever since.