George in the Park concert under review
Auckland DJ Peter Urlich says he will think twice about performing again at George in the Park after the event was marred by drunken chaos.
The free concert was put on by Auckland Council, at Coyle Park in Pt Chevalier on March 18, as part of its Music in the Parks series, attracting more than 13,000 people.
The family day out turned into drunken chaos with reports of people urinating and defecating on nearby properties.
One man found himself in strife after falling off a cliff into an estuary.
Urlich said he was unaware of the behaviour exhibited both at and after the event but was disturbed by what had happened.
‘‘It was a great day, beautiful park and a great production and it’s a shame a few people can’t be mature enough.’’
Urlich said the local neighbourhood shouldn’t have to put up with poor behaviour.
‘‘We love doing these open air things, but if there’s going to be people that are going to behave like that then we’ll think twice about doing it again.’’
Auckland Council event manager David Burt said council was disappointed by some concertgoers’ actions.
‘‘We are very unhappy, with how the event ended, as the extremely poor behaviour exhibited by some attendees clearly did not reflect the fun, family-friendly event we had planned,’’ he said.
The event organisers planned for 38 security guards to be on site at all times.
‘‘Our security plan was consistent with other concerts the council delivers of this size, however we did not anticipate the behaviour seen at this year’s event,’’ Burt said.
Auckland Council will conduct a comprehensive review of the event with input from sponsors and police.
‘‘Until this has been completed, we won’t be able to comment on the future of the event,’’ Burt said.
Demon Energy was the major sponsor of the event and on the whole were pleased with the running of the event.
Chief executive Paul Nolan said a small number of concert goers were poorly behaved.
‘‘As with all our sponsorships, we will debrief with Auckland Council, MediaWorks and other parties before making any decision on future events,’’ Nolan said.