Electric Picnic warns people not to come to stage amid serious crowd issues
The Duke Dumont issue came just 24 hours after a set by American house DJ Armand Van Helden was cancelled at the last minute.
Electric Picnic organisers warned festivalgoers not to make their way to the Electric Arena stage on Saturday evening amid crowd control and volume issues.
Duke Dumont was playing the stage as stewards and gardaí attempted to stem the flow of people trying to attend. The issue prompted organisers to send out a notification on the Electric Picnic official app.
A number of updates hit revellers’ phones within quick succession. The message warned that the “Electric Arena is at capacity,” advising, “please do not make your way to the stage. Thank you.”
The issue came just 24 hours after a set by American house DJ Armand Van Helden was cancelled at the last minute. He was due to play the Smirnoff stage but the performance was pulled amid crowd safety concerns.
The Duke Dumont set went ahead with staff working hard to control and disperse the crowd outside the Electric Arena.
Similar issues arose at the Electric Arena tent back in 2023 when the Wolfe Tones attracted a much larger crowd than anticipated. The following year, the Wolfe Tones were upgraded to the main stage to accommodate the interest.
Electric Picnic has drawn criticism this year over these crowd issues with people venting about the selection of stages for certain acts like Duke Dumont and Armand Van Helden.
One attendee spoke out over the Duke Dumont debacle on social media, posting: “The guards and security tried to form two lines to stop people getting towards tent: that did not work.
“It was dangerous and serious disaster waiting to happen. Should have been cancelled.
“Going EP for 15 Y and never seen as bad.”