One of the UK’s largest electronic music festivals was closed on Friday night amid worries over crowd safety.
Crowds queued for up to two hours to get into the Bloc Festival at London Pleasure Gardens in the Docklands area.
A fence was ripped down by revellers queuing to get into the venue, and several people stormed the arena after waiting for over 90 minutes.
“I saw people getting crushed against metal fences when they were waiting to get in,” said festival goer Scott Stewart. “At points crowds pulled down a fence and charged in as they got so fed up. I was genuinely afraid for my own safety.”
Once inside, the music was stopped at 11:30 p.m.on Friday, even though the festival was supposed to continue until Sunday morning.
Crowds waiting for headliner Snoop Dogg to take to the stage booed loudly when told the festival was closing and the rap star would not be appearing.
Attendee Rob Gregg said via Twitter, “Bloc is the worst festival I’ve ever been to. I don’t know how they’ve managed it.”
Police used a metal fence to split the venue in two, penning crowds into separate areas until they left.
“I queued two hours to get into the venue then once I was in I was told to queue to get home,” stated one Facebook user.
Police officers on the scene said the organisers had chosen to close the show because of safety concerns.
“We are all absolutely devastated that this happened, but the safety of everyone on site was paramount,” said a statement on the Bloc website.
The festival this year featured big names including Gary Numan and Orbital. Tickets for the weekend were £100–£125.
It was the first time a large festival has been staged at the London Pleasure Gardens, a venue that aims to “bring a 21st century version of London’s historic Pleasure Gardens back to The Royal Victoria Docks”, according to their website.
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