Halted festival a ‘serious risk to safety’

A music festival which was cancelled on its second day caused “serious risks to public safety”, a report has found.

The Hope and Glory Festival was due to be held in Liverpool over the weekend of August 5 and 6 but performances on the Sunday were cancelled after festivalgoers complained of large queues on Saturday and singer Charlotte Church was pulled from the lineup following a two-hour delay.

An independent report commissioned by mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, found a catalogue of failures, including a lack of signage and no emergency evacuation plan.

The report, carried out

“Our opinion is that the event was poorly planned”

by The Event Safety Shop, said: “On the basis of the information provided, our opinion is that the event was poorly planned and suffered from failures of management and operational control.

“Serious risks to public safety resulted. While cancellation of the Sunday event was no doubt a disappointment to many, it was an appropriate course of action.”

The report found the failings were down to the event organisers but opportunities were missed by Liverpool City Council’s safety advisory group and a joint agency group to identify shortcomings in advance.

Mr Anderson said: “As a result of this report, we will work with our partners to put in place enhanced planning procedures for events which will find the right balance between scrutinising documents and not making the process too bureaucratic for organisers.”

He said the company behind the festival, Hope and Glory Festivals, had gone into liquidation.