Electric Picnic director defends festival safety following crowd collapse

Electric Picnic director Melvin Benn has denied the need for heightened safety measures at the Irish festival following a crowd collapse.

Electric Picnic took place over the weekend from August 29 - 31 at Stradbally Hall in County Laois. A collapse reportedly occurred on Friday night when crowds surged to Armand Van Helden’s set at the Smirnoff Stage, causing what one attendee described as "mayhem".

Another attendee who was reportedly caught in the collapse told The Journal that it felt like a "silent bomb blast" and that it was the "most terrifying thing ever". They said that the crowd fell on top of each other in a "split second".

In a press conference , Melvin Benn said that the festival responded "immediately" after witnessing the collapse, calling off Armand Van Helden’s set and calling medics to the scene. No injuries were reported.

On Saturday night, crowds also reportedly surged to a performance from Duke Dumont, prompting the festival to send out alerts to all attendees. Benn later described the show to local news outlet Laois Live as a "perfect operation".

"Quite frankly, I don’t think it could have gone better. Duke Dumont was really popular and the tent was full," he said. "Still, we were holding people back and people were being respectful of that, so there was space to come in."

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He said that he believed there was "no real drama at all", and that the suggestion of a need for improved safety measures at the festival is "quite frankly is bonkers".

Benn, who is also the managing director of Festival Republic, did note that the stage chosen for Armand Van Helden to perform may have been too small, and that he was "clearly on a stage that he was too big for".

Watch a clip of Melvin Benn speaking at a press conference below.

Electric Picnic promoter responds after crowd collapse incident ahead of Armand van Helden DJ set at too small venue. pic.twitter.com/VdVMbcZGnm

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