We would like to address some of the issues you may have encountered upon entering the event and apologise for the delay in doing so. We were reviewing the situation with suppliers and the authorities.

Due to some issues because of the poor weather, delays occurred to our opening time. The decision to open slightly later was made to protect the safety of attendees. The unusual weather conditions led to a larger-than-anticipated number of attendees arriving later on the day, and this in turn resulted in an unexpected build-up at the entrance. This is something that we have not experienced in previous years.

Upon arrival, time was taken to conduct stringent security procedures (including a strict search policy for everyone entering the festival). These measures were implemented and are key in ensuring personal safety and enjoyment of the event.

A small number of customers at the search lanes became agitated and decided to breach the search queue by pushing forward at the entrance lines. A secondary issue then occurred as people ignored the requests to move back to try to calm the situation. Sadly, attendees decided to push forward, and the event team needed to consider the safety of attendees already within the arena, together with those attempting to breach the main arena gate.

The event team and authorities made the decision to let people through the entrance gate to disperse and ease the crowd congestion. We can confirm thankfully that no one was injured, and all attendees who did breach the search lanes were in fact searched inside the event before entering to maintain public safety.

Customer safety is, and over the past 8 years always has been, our number one priority. The decisions we made on the day and the processes we implemented were purely for this reason. Your enjoyment of the festival is also paramount to us, and we sincerely regret any distress you experienced.

We acknowledge your concerns about the crowd management, and you can rest assured that we take these matters seriously. We are currently reviewing the situation in more detail to understand how we can improve and prepare for future events.

Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we strive to continually improve the festival experience. We have, since the event began in 2015, been committed to listening and making necessary adjustments to ensure a smoother and more enjoyable event the following year.

We value communication with our attendees and are here to address any additional concerns you may have, so please feel free to email info@51stfestival.com