UK

‘Small number’ of people injured in crowd surge at music festival, police say

Police and Boardmasters have issued statements to stress that the surge was an ‘isolated incident’ and ‘the festival continues’.

Handout photo dated 15/08/21 issued by Boardmasters of festival goers watching Dizzee Rascal during the Boardmasters music and surfing festival in Cornwall
Handout photo dated 15/08/21 issued by Boardmasters of festival goers watching Dizzee Rascal during the Boardmasters music and surfing festival in Cornwall (Andrew Timms/Boardmasters/PA)
By Rachel Vickers-Price, PA

A “small number” of people have been injured in a crowd surge at Boardmasters music festival in Newquay, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The force said in a statement: “We have been notified following a crowd surge at Boardmasters music festival in Newquay on Friday 9 August, which left a small number of attendees injured.

“The injured parties are currently being treated on-site by medical staff or have been taken to hospital to be checked over. None of the injuries are considered serious.

“This is an isolated incident and the festival continues.”

In a statement, the festival organisers said there were no reports of serious injuries and the planned set by DJ and producer Sammy Virji was cancelled.

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Boardmasters said: “We can confirm that Sammy Virji’s set was cancelled and that The Point stage was closed to allow onsite teams to respond to an incident in the audience.

“No serious injuries have been reported and the pit and medical teams immediately assisted those involved. Safety is our number one priority and we thank Sammy and our audience for their understanding.

“All other stages have been unaffected and performances continue as planned.”

DJ Sammy Virji said he was “gutted” about his set being cancelled but “safety should always come first”.

In a post on his Instagram, he said: “I’m incredibly gutted about the stage cancellation for Boardmasters, whilst I’m absolutely honoured at the amount of people who turned up, crowd surges can be very serious and safety should always come first.

“The stoppage was completely out of my hands and hope you all understand the festival needed to prioritise everyone’s wellbeing. Hopefully catch you all soon at another set.”