Police order Download Festival attendees to take off smart watches to stop fake emergency alerts
Police have asked Download Festival attendees to consider turning off smart watches and other similar devices to disable emergency alerts during mosh pits.
Download Festival, the biggest rock festival in the UK, sees around 75,000 people flock to Donington Park to celebrate the largest names in alternative music. In previous years, police witnessed a rise of nearly 700 extra 999 calls over the Download weekend, due to the tendency of festival goers to partake in mosh pits and circle pits.
In anticipation of the same phenomenon, Leicestershire police took to social media to explain that the crowds at Download caused devices to “assume” that there had been “a collision.” Subsequently, the crash detection feature might send an alert to emergency services. If a device does make an accidental 999 call, police have instructed attendees to stay on the line or answer callbacks to “let us know you are safe”.
In other Download Festival news, American pop-punkers Green Day headlined the first night with a riotous set that took aim at the Donald Trump administration. “We are slipping into fascism. Donald Trump and his administration are a fascist government,” frontman Billie Joe Armstrong warned the crowd. “It is up to us to fight back.”
The festival came under scrutiny after backlash over a policy that prohibited trans women from using female bathroom facilities and trans men from using male bathroom facilities.
In response to extreme online backlash, Download in turn released a statement insisting that “the majority of toilets across the site will be gender-neutral and will cater to everyone.” However, the festival lost its backing from beauty brand Lush, which terminated an agreed partnership in solidarity with the trans community.
Download Festival also saw Sleep Token headline on June 14th and Korn headline on June 15th. Other performers hitting the stages at Donnington Park include Bullet for My Valentine, Spiritbox, Boston Manor, and Shine Down.
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