It should have been a farewell party in style, but it ended in a big downer. The death of a visitor during the last edition of the metal, punk and hardcore festival Pitfest as a major festival puts a dark veil over the event.
“Everyone is devastated,” Maik Reuvers, one of the organizers, reflects the morning after the festival. “Until last night, this was the best and busiest Pitfest ever. Saturday was completely sold out. And then it ends like this. This is the biggest anticlimax you can imagine.”
During the performance of the band Gorilla Biscuits, the penultimate performance of the evening, a visitor to the festival becomes unwell. The volunteers at the festival receive this information via a walkie-talkie.
Within minutes, ambulances and a helicopter are called for help. But that help may no longer help. The visitor appears to have died from natural causes.
“We immediately consulted internally and decided that we would stop the music,” says Reuvers. The organization does this out of respect for the deceased, his family, friends and everyone who has been affected by this sad news.
Gorilla Biscuits cannot finish the performance, two other performances are canceled. There is complete understanding from the bands, just like from the audience.
“The police had some concerns about public order after the decision to stop live music,” the organizer said. “But we have the best crowd in the world. We kept the bar open for another hour so everyone could leave quietly.
And everyone leaves quietly, but not after the organization receives a standing ovation after the announcement of the stop. For their decision to end the event, but also for all their commitment to the festival in recent years.
The organization and all volunteers then remain. They talk until deep into the night about the intense images that are still on their minds. “And now we have to wait and see what happens next.”