38,000 people saw Minds of 99 on the Bøgescenen stage at Smukfest last Saturday.
But they were standing so close together that not everyone saw the entire concert. Some were so tightly packed that they fainted during the show.
This was witnessed by festival-goer Stefan Florescu, who during the concert had to pull a female festival-goer to safety behind a bar counter.
"People were pushing, and a meter away from me there was a group of young girls, and one of them panicked and started crying and hyperventilating," he says.
Stefan Florescu was one of those who had to help other festival-goers to safety behind a bar counter. (Photo: © DR)
The girl was about to faint, so Stefan Florescu helped her up into the bar near them.
"It was a dangerous situation. If she had fainted, we would probably have been standing and stepping on her."
Why was it so dangerous?
"The pressure that was there, you're powerless. You can't do anything either way, and people kept pushing to get away," he says.
"It could have gone terribly wrong."
Smukfest has itself stated that during the Minds concert, ten people were "squeezed in a way at a bar, so that the volunteer helpers had to help them over the counter and in behind," and that two of the people fainted.
And security chief Thomas Rydahl said the day after that the festival had "done everything" it could, but that such situations must not occur. (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/politiet-kommer-til-evaluere-haendelse-under-minds-99-koncert-med-smukfest)
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Previously had problems
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This is not the first time problems have arisen at Smukfest due to too many concertgoers.
Among other things, several music critics believed that conditions during the Prince concert at Smukfest in 2013 were too dangerous for the audience. (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/oestjylland/musikanmeldere-uansvarlig-prince-koncert)
And two years later, the festival had to interrupt a concert with Kim Larsen due to chaotic conditions, where several people felt unwell. (https://www.dr.dk/ligetil/kultur/festival-sikkerhed-var-daarlig-til-kim-larsen-koncert)
"It doesn't seem like they have sufficient control over flows and how much people are allowed to push," says Morten Thanning Vendelø, an associate professor at CBS. He researches, among other things, audience safety at festivals.
"Otherwise, we wouldn't see these repeated incidents," he says.
Morten Thanning Vendelø believes the festival should consider getting more control over the audience.
"What characterizes the situation is that you are at a possible tipping point. It didn't ultimately go wrong, but you were moving towards a point where perhaps not much more was needed for it to have gone wrong."
People stood close together at Saturday's concert on the Bøgescenen stage. (Photo: © Clara Hughes, DR)
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Chaos in several places
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Elsewhere on the festival grounds during the Minds of 99 concert, 23-year-old Thea Bech Pedersen also experienced a woman collapsing right in front of her. Quickly, several people formed a circle around the woman so she could get air.
"And everyone standing around her is holding up flashlights and hands in the air, and we're shouting for the first aiders," says Thea Bech Pedersen.
She estimates it took about ten minutes for the first aiders to get through the crowd and reach them.
The woman regained consciousness and was helped out, but Thea Bech Pedersen wishes for faster help.
"That maybe there are some posts at the Bøgescenen stage with fencing around them and first aiders stationed there, so you have the opportunity to transport those who are injured or have fainted there, so they can get some air."
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Look at Roskilde Festival
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CBS associate professor Morten Thanning Vendelø points out that a solution to too many concertgoers could be to divide the area around the Bøgescenen stage into zones, as is done, for example, at the Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival.
"One could also fence in the audience area around the individual stages more," he suggests.
"And when you do your safety risk assessment for each concert, you could decide how many people to let in and announce that to the audience."
At Smukfest, they are in the process of analyzing whether the safety at the Minds concert was adequate.
But security chief Thomas Rydahl says in a press release that the festival needs more time to analyze the incident.
"It is too early to conclude on what might need to be adjusted or taken into account differently at large concerts at Smukfest in the future," he says.
At the same time, the security chief continues to encourage guests to come forward if they have experienced anything unpleasant at Smukfest.
"Very few have chosen to do so so far, but let me emphasize again that we very much want to listen and help."
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