Boardmasters announce improved safety measures following crowd crush in 2024
Boardmasters will implement a set of new and improved safety measures ahead of the festival kicking off later this month, following a dangerous crowd crush in 2024.
When 50,000 festivalgoers descended on the site across Cornwall’s Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach last year, concerning reports emerged that a crowd crush took place. A number of attendees were injured as a result, although none of these were thought to be serious.
Although the festival stated that it was an isolated incident at the time, they have taken measures to improve the safety of this year’s event, which runs from August 6th to 10th.
To this end, its founder and CEO, Andrew Topham, said in a statement: “Boardmasters remain saddened by the isolated incident in 2024,” before going on to outline the various measures that have been implemented alongside Devon and Cornwall Police, Cornwall Council, and other partners.
Per Cornwall Live, this includes an increased police presence, constant security cameras, faster entry and search lanes, as well as support areas dotted around the site manned by emergency healthcare professionals.
There will also be crisis support offered to those experiencing harassment, sexual abuse, or domestic abuse, in order to prevent the series of incidents of this nature which unfortunately happened at the festival last year.
Emphasising this, Boardmasters’ safeguarding lead, Dawn Grant, added that the organisers have “put in months of planning to prioritise creating a safe, supportive environment where all young people can enjoy the festival confidently.”
This year’s festival is set to be headlined by Central Cee, Raye, and The Prodigy. Other big names gracing the stage include The Wombats, Wet Leg, Nelly Furtado, Maribou State, London Grammar and Bob Vylan.
The latter are particularly notable as there was pressure for Boardmasters to axe the rap duo from the lineup following their controversial performance at Glastonbury. Still, despite an ongoing police investigation, they have not bowed to this outcry.
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