Edinburgh street party organisers apologise for "distress" from crowding
The organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party have said sorry to anyone who felt "uncomfortable" or found crowding at the event "upsetting" after complaints from some
The organisers of Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party have issued an apology after some attendees complained of over crowding at the event.
Whilst Unique Assembly say they put measures in place to deal with how busy some areas had become - and say those solutions worked - they admitted some might have found the situation "uncomfortable and upsetting".
One of those caught up in the congestion was David May, whose told us he'll lodge a complaint with the Council.
He said: "There was clearly a pinch point, people didn't really know what was going on, and you couldn't move.
"I've been to festivals in the past, I've been to T in the park - down the front of the stage - and what we experienced on Hogmanay was nothing like that."
David explained that having recently seen stories on the news about overcrowding causing massive incidents resulting in injury and death, he became acutely aware of what could happen.
"People were clearly petrified, one lady was in tears"
He said: "I remembered there was a crush in South Korea on Halloween, and it got to the point where I had said to her (His friend) , 'if this gets any worse, hold your hands up above your chest, because I believe if there's a crush, that should help you breathe'
"The crowd just started pushing and moving back and forth in different directions.
"Luckily we'd got to the side of the crowd, and we were right next to one of the barriers.
"I was getting pushed so much against the barrier that it was becoming difficult to breathe, there was no security staff - so I managed to get myself over the top of it.
"I think I maybe helped maybe ten people of varying ages as well.
"There were people who were clearly petrified, one lady was in tears, there were people from abroad who had clearly come a long long way to experience Hogmanay, and they'd not got the experience that I'd think we'd want to give of Edinburgh and of Scotland."
""The measures put in place did work and congestions levels eased."
Directors of UniqueAssembly, who produce Edinburgh’s Hogmanay on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council, said “The Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party is unlike other festival events due to a large festival size crowd being located within city centre streets rather than an open green field space. This brings with it particular challenges and during the event UniqueAssembly work in conjunction with the City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland as well as specialist event stewards, event safety officers and other blue light services to ensure crowd safety is never compromised.
"We were monitoring the whole Street Party arena all evening. As soon as it became apparent that bottom of Frederick Street, which is a prime viewing spot, was getting very busy we closed that gate and opened another entrance in a quieter area. The Frederick Street bar was also temporarily closed to encourage movement away from the area and to steer revellers to the five other bars on the Street.
"Safety lanes are located on either side of the streets throughout the arena, which can be opened to alleviate crowd pressure when required and lanes were opened in this area to allow audience members safe access out of the busy areas and into sections on either side of Frederick Street which had lower audience numbers in them. The barrier lane system is in place for this very reason and sections throughout the Street Party can be opened or closed as required to increase crowd movement either naturally by crowd dynamics or deliberately by event stewards."
"we apologise for any distress felt as a result of this."
"The measures put in place did work and congestions levels eased. However, we are aware that this situation may have been uncomfortable and upsetting for some of those caught up in the crowd at this time and we apologise for any distress felt as a result of this.
"Overall our feedback is showing that despite the challenging weather conditions, the vast majority of the 40,000 revellers in the Street Party and Concert in the Gardens enjoyed their night dancing to live DJ sets relayed on big screens along the length of West Princes Street (as advertised), watching fireworks lift from Edinburgh Castle at 9.00pm, 10.00pm and 11.00om before cheering in the New Year to a spectacular 10 minute Midnight Moment with Fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne.”