The concert 21 years ago swelled to uncontrollable proportions when a quarter of a million people took over Brighton’s seafront.
Many times the expected number of people arrived at the concert. Over
In 2002, British DJ Fatboy Slim organized a free beach party in Brighton. The plans included a summer evening in the mood of techno music in front of an enthusiastic audience of 40–60 thousand.
250 thousand people from all over the country came to the place. The whole city was jammed with the crowd. Traffic jams stretched for dozens of kilometers, groups of friends drifted apart.
The crowds began to grow to an uncontrollable scale already hours before the event began. As the beach filled up, the revelers spread out into the sea.
– We weren’t prepared for that. There was a mistake, the local police Kevin Claxton recalls in the documentary Fatboy Slim – Chaos on the Beach.
– I understood and also told my subordinates that, despite the previous instructions, the most important thing now was to guarantee people’s safety, including our own.
The huge mass of people caused great security threats. Over
The police even considered canceling the entire concert. However, it was considered the more dangerous of the two options.
– The group had been drinking all day and were in a good mood. If you closed the beach, the situation could get boring, Fatboy Slim said Norman Cook remembers.
As the H-moment approached, people climbed the breakwater and the lampposts. The riot police had to retreat from their positions for their own safety.
During the concert, the paramedics had difficulty getting to everyone who needed help. It was not possible to take patients to the first aid area, because it was occupied.
The concert was finally ended early. Later it turned out that one concertgoer had died of a heart attack, another fell from the ledge to his death during the after party.
In spite of everything, the benevolent atmosphere of the concert has remained the most memorable for those present. PDO
In other respects, the evening went mostly peacefully. There were relatively few injuries and only six arrests were made.
Those who were there still remember the concert and its atmosphere fondly in the documentary.
Fatboy Slim – chaos on the beach today with Teema & Fem at 21:55 & Areena. See all TV programs and broadcast times in Telku’s TV guide.