Fans denounce ‘dangerously oversold’ Primavera Sound after opening night
Many took to social media to complain of “ridiculous queues” and “no access to water” after "terribly organised" festival returns after pandemic
Primavera Sound is finally back after the pandemic, but many fans were left bitterly disappointed with how the first night of the “terribly organised” festival in Parc del Fòrum went.
Many took to social media to denounce the “dangerous situation” as they felt unsafe in the “oversold” venue. There were reports of “very scary bottlenecks” of crowds trying to move from one area to another, and other reports of crowds of people being pressed together.
Many people also complained of a lack of security to help in these situations.
.@Primavera_Sound is not safe. Oversold, no water access points, crushes/bottlenecks everywhere making it near impossible to get from stage to stage. Unsure what can be done to fix this by tomorrow but it was by far the worst festival experience I’ve ever had.
— David Thorp (@DavidThorp) June 2, 2022
Everything sucks abt @Primavera_Sound this year except the curation & artists. So oversold, random cancellations unannounced, INSANE lines at every bar, clueless bar staff, terrible access to BITS, faulty app that breaks. What happened to the best music fest in the world? #sad
— GBE (@plasticaisle) June 2, 2022
Heartbroken that @Primavera_Sound is so terribly organised this year. Overcrowded capacity, VIP seating area making headline acts unwatchable (unless you're a VIP), ridiculous queues for the bars, no access to water. Left early I was so annoyed at the whole thing.
— Julia Morrison (@Julia_Emm) June 2, 2022
Primavera sound was dangerous yesterday. No water and crowd crush. This will be the next astroworld. Report on it, look at the comments on every PS post. Ppl not happy
— tarot cards :) (@tarotcards4) June 3, 2022
Some free advice to @Primavera_Sound for day 2: let people bring in water bottles without caps; hire loads of bar staff and stewards who know what they’re doing; finally, apologise to loyal fans of the festival who are seriously pissed off by yesterday’s incompetence. pic.twitter.com/kEJgXIe19K
— Simon Taylor (@simontaylor71) June 3, 2022
@Primavera_Sound tonight I got stuck in a very scary bottleneck of people trying to leave #charlixcx as the @tameimpala crowd was arriving. Incredibly dangerous, more stewards needed and crowds way over capacity.
— Sian Alex (@sianalexuk) June 2, 2022
@Primavera_Sound tonight I got stuck in a very scary bottleneck of people trying to leave #charlixcx as the @tameimpala crowd was arriving. Incredibly dangerous, more stewards needed and crowds way over capacity.
— Sian Alex (@sianalexuk) June 2, 2022
.@Primavera_Sound is dangerously oversold. I’ve been twice before and it has never been this difficult to access bars, toilets, stages etc! It’s an absolute shambles.
— Sally (@SallyVanns) June 2, 2022
Fucking hell. @Primavera_Sound feels sold way over-capacity. Just had a dangerous situation down at the main stage where nobody could move and were pressed together - had to jump the gate to the VIP section to get out!
— Matthew Crossin (@MattCrossin) June 2, 2022
Hey @Primavera_Sound It's a total shit show. If you can't double the capacity of Parc Del Forum, maybe you shouldn't double the number of people inside? It's borderline dangerous at this point.
— Ourson Welles (@oursonwelles) June 2, 2022
@Primavera_Sound is this your excuse to get out of bankruptcy? So poor that people who have been waiting two years can’t have a good time or move? Over an hour for a drink and very dangerous. Let’s hope there’s no casualties pic.twitter.com/ZIVwwAWeIS
— amelia (@ameliabutcherr) June 2, 2022
Additionally, the lack of water available was another massive problem for many. People complained that bars would not give water, and pointed out that this was a particularly bad issue in a hot country where even at night temperatures stayed above 20 degrees.
#PrimaveraSound2022 @Primavera_Sound I tried to get water for 5 hours tonight, in ques constantly, no bar could give me water even for good money #shame this is dangerous you should be sued
— Alix Davies (@alixdarts) June 3, 2022
Apart from the aspects of the festival that made people worry about their physical safety, there were also complaints about the sound quality at the various performance areas. As one fan put it: “Sound bleeding into other stages. Actual hell on Earth.” She later added that she become “so faint” due to a lack of water available that she had to leave by 11.30.
First @Primavera_Sound experience not so good: been queuing forever to even get a water let alone a drink (which I still haven’t had). Everywhere is chaotic. Sound bleeding into other stages. Actual hell on Earth.
— Kasimiira Kontio (@kkasimiira) June 2, 2022
Hi @Primavera_Sound are you going to discipline your security team for taking people's empty camel packs from them? I'm concerned about coming next week now due to the water situation and would like to ve able to fill up from your water fountains
— Henrietta McGregor (@SAnderson_226) June 3, 2022
Long queues prevented people from getting water, but the queues at the bar left people waiting what they felt was an unacceptable amount of time.
Trying to get a drink😭 pic.twitter.com/Gp8lgSDzn2
— Steven Beijer (@Stevenbeijer) June 2, 2022
#primaverasound waited 45 mins for a drink. Moved 1 metre. @Primavera_Sound pic.twitter.com/QhwzKEMlSy
— 44soy (@44soy44) June 2, 2022
One hour line to get a beer at #primaverasound #PrimaveraSound2022 #Primavera pic.twitter.com/hqCRWMrRFO
— raguelis (@raguelisg) June 2, 2022
Festival organizers responded on Friday morning to the criticism from fans, but only about "problems in the bar services" - ignoring the reports from countless who felt unsafe at the overcrowded site. Many fans are demanding a refund on their tickets.
Today marks the second day of Primavera Sound. We are aware of the problems in the bar services yesterday and we apologize for them. We are working tirelessly to solve them so that we can all enjoy the coming days as we deserve. See you this afternoon.
— Primavera Sound (@Primavera_Sound) June 3, 2022
After the disastrous hydration situation on the first day, festival organizers have added three new free water taps spread out across the Parc del Fòrum venue.
We hear you: we have added 3 free water points in the venue alongside the 3 we already have. Thank you for helping us to improve. pic.twitter.com/uX9EYrmrxN
— Primavera Sound (@Primavera_Sound) June 3, 2022
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