The Originals Festival was slated to run until 10pm on Sunday. Due to a crowd rush, attendees were asked to leave the venue around 7pm.
The Originals Festival in London was evacuated abruptly before its scheduled end time on Sunday, August 17 after a crowd rush that reportedly left two people with minor injuries.
Performances were scheduled until 10pm local time, but organizers asked attendees to vacate the event site at Cystal Palace Bowl shortly after 7pm. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, it has become necessary to close the event early,” said an announcement. “Please return to your vehicles, or meeting points, and exit the site immediately.”
In an Instagram Story, The Originals Festival’s organizers did not indicate what prompted their decision. “We don’t want to be silent or seem insensitive in any way. When we’re allowed to speak we ABSOLUTELY will,” it reads. “But as any true Original raver knows, we care more about you all than anything else.”
According to My London, attendees who vacated reported being told by security guards that “people breached the entrance” and the event had become “too dangerous” as a result. The Met reportedly told The Standard that cordons were put up to facilitate a safe evacuation — and while two suffered minor injuries, allegations of stabbings that had circulated on social media were unfounded.
A brand under the South Facing Festival umbrella, The Originals Festival inaugurated in 2023 with a focus on genres in and adjacent to dance music that originated in Black culture. All three editions of the event so far have taken place at Crystal Palace Bowl.
“Please bare with us if you can during this process,” The Originals Festival wrote in their Instagram Story. “We will answer every email and DM as we always do as soon as we’re allowed to.”
