Apologies to festival-goers after ‘biblical’ downpour
ORGANISERS of Bristol music festival Love Saves the Day have apologised after fans complained about the second day of the festival being marred by a “torrential” downpour.
The rain on Friday forced singer Arlo Parks to cancel her performance after the stage flooded and many fans left the festival early.
Festival-goers’ complaints included the lack of shelter, chaotic crowds and bus queues as people left the festival early, and some festivalgoers also criticised the response from security on site.
There was also confusion about reentry, with many fans heading home on the understanding they couldn’t get back into the festival site once they had left, only seeing on social media too late that people were being allowed back in.
Many attendees were angered by a statement by organisers on Friday night, which said: “We... have always avoided indoor structures at Love Saves The Day because our love and focus is on creative outdoor builds.”
On Saturday, a further statement was issued by the organisers at Team Love, responding to some of the concerns raised.
It said: “We are really devastated to hear that so many of you didn’t have a good time yesterday and left the festival early.
“We put our heart and soul into Love Saves the Day all year round to ensure that everyone has a fantastic two days of music and dancing, so to know that many of you weren’t able to enjoy the show is heartbreaking.
“When the rain came it was unexpected and torrential. There was a forecast of showers but nothing as heavy and as constant at the two hours we all faced.
“We are disheartened to hear reports of some security or staff who were unhelpful or aggressive - this is totally unacceptable and hopefully it goes without saying that is not what we are about. We are sorry if some of you felt the response from the festival was slow to happen.
“We can assure you that behind the scenes all of our senior management team were working together to try to control the situation safely and securely. Our main aim was to enable those of you who wanted to leave to do so, and for those who decided to stay, getting the stages back open as soon as it was safe to do so.
“We would like to thank all the staff who stepped up to the plate and reacted positively to help us do this.
“We recognise that communications around re-entry were unclear for a time - the team was working dynamically in response to the evolving circumstances and we addressed it as soon as we were able to. Love Saves The Day has been an outdoor open air festival since its beginning 10 years ago. We have had some tents over the years, but we have always been predominantly outdoors and uncovered.
“Fundamentally it would not be possible to provide cover for 30,000 people simultaneously during a biblical downpour without putting all the stages into tents and completely changing the whole identity of the festival - but with that being said, we will look to provide more cover and shelter next year at the event and to ensure that the site wide response system is strengthened.
“We would like to apologise if our end of night statement last night felt insensitive to all of those who did leave the event early. It was not intended to be dismissive; it was simply from our feeling of relief that we had managed to get to the end of a truly challenging day, and that our headliners had all managed to take to the stage and play what turned out to be incredible and truly memorable sets.
“Thursday did feel genuinely special and it is nothing short of heartbreaking that the weather on Friday had such a negative impact on the show and your enjoyment.
“Big love to all who stuck it out, and even more so to those who got dried off and came back to join us for an epic set at the end of a very emotional day. We are starting work now to ensure we do everything we can to improve the show at its new home for 2023.”
The festival, which took place across the two bank holidays marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, saw around 60,000 visitors at Ashton Court Estate.