Reading Festival 2008

I agree, it is incredibly dangerous and perhaps irresponsible to allow it to continue as it is. Having seen it from the inside I know how poorly equipped and trained the staff are to deal with this kind of thing, it's way way beyond the ability of volunteers and casual workers. The disgusting attitude of Specialized Security makes things worse. One of these days there will be very serious loss of life and I hope Festival Republic lose their license permanently due to criminal negligence before that happens.

 

That looks tame compared to what it was like later on in Purple.

 

no idea , I think most of the people know whats going to happen although if you havent been there its hard to imagine the destruction .
mostly its good natured destruction although with gas canisters going off all the time someones going to get killed , but as I say most people who go expect burning and suchlike.
They could cancel it but likely it brings a lot of money to the town , whats strange is all of this happens in a town and the smell of burning plastic and the noise would make me complain if I lived there .

I may be slightly mad enjoying working such a event I think partly its the crew who work there.
basically you work 12 hour plus shifts in cold towers maybe with the threat of violence , then you try to sleep for a couple of hours then party then go back up a tower some events I sleep maybe 5 hours in five days did that in lattitude I think and when your working it can be really physical .
And there are beautiful girls who like this sort of thing too, the dc night crew are pretty hardcore people you have to do this sort of thing to get how tough it can be, its hard to stay awake that long and on your feet that long .

 

when things get really wild whose going to film it .

and yes its dangerous but if people want to go to a dangerous place why stop them, get them to sign something saying they know the risks and enter at their own risk .

I wouldnt go as a member of the public for fun , but if someone gets set on fire Id try to help them the ambulance and fire brigades saying they wont go in because its too dangerous and their crews will be attacked pah thats up to them

 

There were plenty of people there who were genuinely shocked about what happened and obviously had no idea of the extent of the rioting, even people who had been before but had camped in other areas. There were people with young children camped in our field. I don't think you can say it was their fault for not knowing, people expect to be able to camp in relative safety without having their tents ripped down and burnt, possibly with them still inside. None of the stories I've heard prepared me for just how crazy it was, and I've worked there before and spoken to people who worked those campsites before. It really is hard to imagine until you see it for yourself.

 

well taking young children to the main camping areas is pretty mad can you protect people from their wrong choices maybe they have to live and learn or not if their unlucky

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=jhyntvslKto&NR=1 last year the explosions at the begining give you a idea how dangerous putting out a fire with a cannister on it can be

 

It's not mad if they didn't know, which obviously they didn't, and who would expect that dangerous and criminal behaviour would be so commonplace? If any one incident like the ones I saw happened on the street on a normal day it would be a very serious event requiring a police response, those responsible would be arrested and probably charged. Here there were hundreds of very serious crimes being committed with little or no police presence. There should be clear warnings that these areas are practically lawless. People obviously don't know how bad it is. The more I think over what I saw the more I think the festival should probably be shut down.

But as long as it's going I'll probably work it every year. It's nice to be able to help and be someone people can turn to for assistance, no matter how small my contribution may be. It's rare we have to put the training we've had to use at festivals, but on the main campsites at Reading it happens all the time.

 

Think you'll find disclaimers against death are not legal johnny.

Perhaps one should be pro-active in trying to ensure safety rather than just reactive.

 

Well if you go to the right parts of the uk at the right time you can be pretty sure of trouble just walking down the street .
when I used to go to nightclubs all the time when they finished there were certain places you could go to see or be involved in a fight normally with groups of people involved that was on the normal city streets .

It wouldnt take much research to know that reading was a bit wild Id say that was more obvious than knowing that certain areas of a city were dangerous .

Id say reading was less dangerous than some city centers, glasgow lets say, ok you do have the explosions and fires but city centers arent safe , it would be interesting looking at the relative injury rates .

yup someone will get killed but with that number in a city center how many will get stabbed .

And hopefully it will be on next year as Id like to work with the dc crew there again

 

yup thats the way things are going health and safety laws for tieing your shoelace

basically its fascism people telling other people what they can do with their lives , I may disaprove of some things other people do but if its not effecting me or innocent bystanders Id leave them to it .

I suppose you would like to ban boxing or mountain climbing and I think disclaimers should be legal tell the person this is dangerous your likely to be killed and then if they are who could they blame

 

Look here johhny, civilzed society does not accept that people can choose to murder each other, even if they wish too.
Sorry mate but your really living a delusional existence if thats the sort of crap you wish to argue for, the right of the thug, that's what facism is.

 

you didnt answer my question would you ban boxing or mountain climbing both sports are dangerous one has the aim of knocking someone out thereby causing them pain and possible brain damage .
I would think more people are killed doing dangerous sports than going to things like reading .

Civilised society seems ok with the idea of armys where you get medals for killing people who in many cases didnt choose to put themselves on the firing line , take for example all the medals given to members of bomber command for firebombing german citys

 

You talk such total gash sometimes. It's reasonable to expect to be able to go about your business in public spaces and workplaces without being exposed unnecessarily to recklessness and obvious dangers. The HSE is not about stopping people from doing dangerous things but minimising and controlling the inherent risks you might be exposed to in doing them.

"Health and safety laws for tying shoelaces" and calling it a kind of fascism really is the most ill-informed absurd tripe and you ought to know better.

 

in some cases health and safety would stop a event if they thought it was to dangerous, why they dont close down reading I dont know its far more dangerous than say the mud at sunrise was for example

your right in that reading is a public space and as it is people could go to it and be suprised that its dangerous what Im saying is wouldnt it be better to make it clear this is a dangerous space much like you mark out firing ranges and get people to sign something that they enter understanding its dangerous and at their own risk .

at the moment that wouldnt be legal but I dont see why it shouldnt be legal

 

One of the reasons Sunrise was stopped was because emergency vehicles couldn't access the site. We had medical and fire services refusing to attend incidents at Reading because of the rioting, so essentially it was the same situation there.

No I don't think it's a good idea to have areas where the laws of the land don't apply. If event organisers and emergency services cannot ensure a basic level of safety then yes an event should be stopped. Festival Republic should at least have their licence suspended until they take proper steps to try and deal with the problems. If they can't, their license should be permanently revoked.

 

How on earth can you compare lawless violence to boxing or mountain climbing?The aim of boxing is not to cause brain damage and it is a regulated sport, although not one id want to get involved in. And mountain climbing is not a violent sport.

Reading sounds like hell to me though I like your attitude of going there to help Lithium

I have much more to comment on Jonny's ridiculous idea of marking off an area as too dangerous to go in but havnt got time atm - to be continued!

 

They definitely do need to crack down on Reading. I don't like seeing a large police presence at festivals, but in Reading's case it probably is necessary. Festival hooligans should be served with festival bans, much like football hooligans are given travel bans. Most of the other festivals in the country seem to get by without this mindless immaturity....

 

I think it's because a huge proportion of the people attending Reading are quite young, in their mid to late teens and have probably spent little time away from home before so they get drunk and get a bit wild and don't know how to behave in an environment where there's a certain degree of 'freedom' (though from what I've heard you're treated more like a customer than a guest or participant which is not what festivals are about imo). There is the older moron contingent to deal with too who are old enough to know better so it's not fair to blame it all on the young'uns.. Essentially though it's a pop festival, sure the lineup's rock bands but all pretty commercial or 'popular', major label acts etc so it may attract people who don't really understand what a festival is about...

Another thing to think about is the alcohol issue.. A friend went a few years ago and said the police were roaming the campsites at night jumping on people smoking weed, arresting them and cutting their wristbands off for having very small amounts of personal. At the same time you had the whole thing sponsored by a lager company, you could get free lager if you picked up empties etc and everyone was wankered on cheap booze, underagers who can't handle it in particular and which the police were less harsh on than pot..

Now I'm not saying festivals should be about taking drugs but I'd much rather be in a field with a bunch of stoned and tripping people than a bunch of drunk kids.. I work freelance in production and Reading is pretty much the only gig I refuse to do every year when offered because to me it's not what a festival's about, I'm not a big fan of being forced to look at sponsors logos and ads and being herded like a spectator sheep with a bunch of irresponsible pissheads- festies are about freedom and participation! innit.

Oops ended up on a bit of a rant but that's my 2p

 

Wise words Reverend, I'd agree with pretty much everything you said. Festival Republic festivals are all like that in terms of their attitude of treating you like a walking money sponge rather than someone participating to make an event. Plus the fact that they cut every conceivable corner right down to the dangerously inadequate levels of staffing, training and resources for those responsible for festival safety. Many of the festival's problems come from this attitude which filters right down from the greedy corporate pig Melvin Benn to the mobs who destroy everything on Sunday night. If you're not treated with respect as an essential part of the process but as a unit to be exploited, why would you show the festival any respect back? The other factors you mention all play a part too, the young pissed-up crowd probably exacerbates the problem somewhat, but obviously it's only a minority of the 16-20 year olds who cause problems, the vast majority are quite capable of behaving themselves. Many of the young first-timers were as shocked and frightened as everyone else by the rioting.

The only good thing about it is the music - yes the headliners and main stages are mostly big name commercial rubbish but if you can't find a few bands you'd kill to see somewhere lower down on a Reading line-up then you need to have your ears amputated. And as we've said, it really is a unique work environment which really puts your abilities to the test in dealing with difficult and sometimes dangerous people and situations.

 

Just because a band's signed to a major doesn't always mean they're bad they just have a wider audience of people, many of whom may not understand the conept of a festy. I don't doubt for one minute that the younger audience are for the most part well behaved but an event that size can be overwhelming if you've never been to a festival before or have little experience of being in that environment or being away from home, add in the booze factor and it can be a disaster..

Out of interest, are the majority of stewards volunteer? i.e. working for a ticket? Because something that size and unpredictableness you really need a strong team of experienced people who are trained and briefed and paid properly (and from your post it sounds like they aren't), ideally on site 2 days prior to gates for a proper run through contingency plans so it runs smoothly, safely and effectively; not just a bunch of munters who just want to get mashed and get a free ticket.

Sadly a lot of the H&S bureaucracy is necessary at events in the UK because the english, a lot of the time, simply can't be trusted to look after themselves. You give an inch, they take a mile. In festivals out in europe the H&S is minimal if not non-existent yet somehow there's less accidents and problems at events. It's because people look out for each other more and there's a greater sense of unity, community, participation and respectful autonomy. You shouldn't have to have rules because people can police themselves often. Unfortunately that's not the case here.

I refuse to work for Festival Republic because I don't believe in what they do.. This weekend I ended up working at the Beachdown festival near Brighton which was nice. The organisers were good people but a bit clueless and things were all over the place. I think they went to Glasto and sniffed a load of charlie and said 'we can do this' but hmm... Good effort for a first year though..