Christopher BarrettSuperstruct Entertainment owned surfing and music festival Boardmasters saw seven people transferred to hospital, after what some attendees described as a “terrifying” crowd surge.
The promoter of the Newquay, Cornwall, event successfully applied to Cornwall Council to increase the festival’s capacity from 53,00 to 58,000 this year. It described the incident during a DJ set by Sammy Virji as “isolated” and while that set at The Point stage was subsequently cancelled, the venue was later reopened and the festival continued throughout the weekend.
Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed that none of the injuries were serious and stated: “Contrary to speculation, we can confirm that there have been no deaths as a result of this incident.”
All of the event attendees who were transferred to hospital are understood to have been treated for minor injuries before being discharged.
The promoter said that all necessary safety measures were in place at the event, as reviewed and agreed with its partner agencies. It said in a statement, “Following the isolated incident on Friday night when seven festivalgoers were transferred to hospital from the festival for minor injuries, the event continued normally.”