Electric Picnic director defends safety after crowd collapse

Electric Picnic festival director Melvin Benn has defended the event's safety protocols following a crowd collapse and capacity issues during the sold-out festival in County Laois, Ireland, over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The incident occurred on Friday, August 28, ahead of a scheduled performance by American DJ Armand Van Helden, prompting the cancellation of his set.

Approximately 80,000 people attended the festival at Stradbally Hall from August 28 to 30. The first major incident unfolded on Friday evening at the Smirnoff stage. As large crowds gathered for Van Helden's performance, a logjam formed with people attempting to enter and exit the area simultaneously. This led to a crowd collapse, which one attendee described as feeling like a silent bomb blast. Festivalgoer Aoife McKenna reported scenes of total mayhem as people fell on top of one another while more attendees continued to push in from outside.

Organizers cancelled Van Helden's performance before he took the stage. Benn stated that medics and security staff were present and that the show was stopped immediately upon seeing the collapse. "Sometimes a crowd is full and doesn't collapse," Benn said at a press...