Light festival ‘mosh pit’ criticised
Some visitors have criticised the way a popular Christchurch light festival was planned after they were ‘‘herded’’ in a ‘‘mosh pit’’ to catch a glimpse of the illuminated artworks.
Up to 30,000 people attended the expanded Botanic D’Lights festival on Thursday with tens of thousands more expected to flood into the grounds over the weekend.
The event began at 6pm on Wednesday and will run until tomorrow. It is the first time the festival had included the historic, former university buildings with 40 light and animation installations scattered through the Botanic Gardens and Arts Centre.
After a mild opening night due to drizzle, crowds spilled out onto the street, swarmed at the entrance and pushed past strollers to get inside on Thursday night. Parents struggled to keep sight of their children with some peeling off half-way down the path to escape what has been called a ‘‘massive bottleneck’’.
Amelia Marden said she sprained her ankle after being pushed off the track as everyone ‘‘funnelled into one narrow path’’.
It was hard to see the lights through the crowd and ‘‘resembled more of a mosh pit than a walk through the gardens’’, she said.
‘‘There was only one really interactive [installation] near the end – a maze of fluorescent green hanging ropes – which caused a massive bottleneck and completely stopped the flow of people.’’
Father-of-five Fionn O’Leary and his wife took their children, including 1-year-old triplets, and said they had ‘‘never been anywhere so busy’’.
The signposted path was ‘‘a squish the whole way around’’ with no room to move, made especially difficult with the narrow walkways that were not suitable for a stroller, he said.
‘‘We felt it was terrible, we didn’t have time to appreciate any of the installations . . . [it was] very distressing for our kids.’’
Council community support governance and partnerships head John Filsell said attendance was ‘‘much larger’’ than the 2016 event, in a similar sized space.
The entrance gate on Rolleston Ave would be closed for brief periods if the grounds reach capacity, he said.
Overall, the council was ‘‘surprised and delighted’’ with attendance.
Security would be boosted for the weekend. Electronic lighting boards would show waiting times and the queuing time would be kept to under 10 minutes, Filsell said.