The crowd that caused a disturbance at an Eritrean party in Tilburg on Saturday evening came mainly from Germany, England and France. They had come to a performance by the popular Eritrean singer Kiros. His concert in the party center Seven Hills on the Zevenheuvelenweg was completely sold out. Fans who were no longer allowed inside took their frustration out that evening on the police who had to perform multiple charges to calm everything down.
Owner Ahmed Boudaid of the Tilburg party center says that he had already called the police earlier that evening, because he saw that the group that had to stay outside became too large to be controlled by his own security guards.
“Fans tried to climb fences.”
According to him, it concerned 300 to 400 fans who had come to Tilburg for the singer. “They came in groups of about 20 people, many of them drunk,” he says. Ahmed Boudaid was afraid that he would not be able to cope with his own security guards. The police did not consider intervention necessary at that time, but did advise to turn the music down.
“When the people outside realized that they could hear almost nothing from the concert, they pushed forward and tried to climb over the fences.” The party center owner was forced to call the police again.
“Officers were pelted with glass.”
He brought reinforcements from Den Bosch and Eindhoven. Police dogs were also used. And that had an effect, Ahmed Boudaid saw. “I think someone was even bitten in the buttocks by a police dog.” According to him, the atmosphere was very grim and aggressive, especially towards the police. “Officers were even pelted with glass.”
It had not been his idea to invite the Eritrean singer, emphasizes Ahmed Boudaid. “We only do weddings here.” The concert was organized as an alternative to a wedding party that had already been scheduled but had to be canceled at the last minute due to a breakup. “The family wanted to limit the costs they incurred through this action by Kiros. The agreement was that a maximum of two hundred guests could come. The family has also adhered to that.”
“Glad no one was seriously injured.”
Boudaid suspects that the news about the singer’s performance has spread abroad via social media. “Kiros has fled himself and is seen as an Eritrean resistance hero. They brought him over from Italy, where he lives, for this concert.” The public went “completely crazy,” he said. “People even fainted.” Ahmed Boudaid is happy that no one was seriously injured. But he hopes not to experience anything like that again.
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