Family-friendly concert called off as fears rise over ‘bad drugs’
A FAMILY-FRIENDLY concert event this weekend has been cancelled after worries over a “bad batch” of drugs that reportedly led to the deaths of two young people at a festival last weekend.
An 18-year-old care worker and a 20-year-old father of two died after taking drugs at Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth, according to their families. The festival cancelled its second day because of the tragedies.
But while Mutiny drew a crowd of around 30,000 to see acts such as the rapper Sean Paul and RNB singer Craig David, the free seafront Bandstand event in nearby Southsea was to feature a choir of underprivileged youths and upbeat tunes from a cover band.
Gerald Vernon-jackson, the leader of Portsmouth city council, said: “We had specific concerns with Bandstand having open access to people with no tickets where dealers could just walk in and sell drugs.
“We felt this could open the gates to the batch that was used last weekend. It is a real worry. We have to be very careful as we don’t want a repeat of what happened.”
Many voiced their disapproval, pointing out that the Bandstand events were relaxed, family-friendly affairs.
One woman called Deborah Austin said she had gone to Bandstand in the last two years with her children and grandson, and wrote on Facebook that the cancellation was a “way over-thetop knee-jerk reaction”.
Another Facebook user, Tina Emery agreed, writing: “We have been going for years and never any trouble down there. It is mixed age groups of pensioners, families and kids. Most people are probably over 30.
“I promise I won’t taking drugs. An over-reaction in my opinion which has left me fuming.”
Keith Jenkins said: “While I can understand the council’s sentiments surely the Mutiny Festival is more of a dance event that seems to attract the drugs. The Bandstand is more of a Sunday afternoon listening to music.”
The Urban Vocal Group, the youth choir that was due to perform this weekend, said that while it was disappointing for the event to be cancelled, they understood the decision.
A spokesperson said: “People put a lot of effort into organising these events and the music festivals including Mutiny. It’s always devastating for everyone when they are cancelled.
“Most importantly, I still think it might be too soon to start ‘celebrating the summer festivities’ when two young lives were lost only last weekend.”