Festival ‘not without difficulty’

Rock band Hot Sauce Club performs during Southern Sounds at Logan Park on Saturday. PHOTO: PETER...
Rock band Hot Sauce Club performs during Southern Sounds at Logan Park on Saturday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Two people were arrested and two others were injured after disorder at a Dunedin music festival on Saturday.

However, festival organisers called it a "huge success" and said the vast majority of attendees were well behaved.

Audiology Touring director Mitch Lowe said about 4200 people attended the festival and only a small number created issues.

"Just like any festival it was not without some difficulty, but thankfully it’s always a very small minority of people that create issues and we have systems in place to deal with it and teams with decades of experience in doing so."

A police spokeswoman said several people were evicted from Southern Sounds at Logan Park and about 40 others were spoken to about a range of issues.

One man had a head injury after falling 2m trying to climb into the neighbouring Stevenson Tennis Centre. Police were required to assist gaining entry into the centre so he could be treated by ambulance crew.

A woman was treated by ambulance workers for cuts to her face and two men were arrested for disorderly behaviour.

The third edition of the Dunedin music festival featured 30 artists who were mix of local and international acts.

Mr Lowe said the festival’s intoxication and bar management team told him about 279 people went through crowd care and eight were removed from it for either behavioural issues or for being in a state where they could not safely enter the festival.

Most people were intoxicated from pre-loading before the festival, Mr Lowe said.

Alcoholic drinks were limited to one per person after 5.45pm.

Staff took one person to hospital with a twisted ankle at 9.50pm and six women were offered a ride home but were safely collected by friends.

Two parents were allowed on site to collect their daughters who were under the influence.

"Overall the event was another huge success, the feedback gets better each year from the attendees", Mr Lowe said.

mark.john@odt.co.nz

 

 

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