Creamfields Avoids Crush Injuries

Organisers of the Creamfields dance festival in England interrupted David Guetta’s set because they feared there was a risk that people in the crowd could get injured.

Speaking on the Virtualfestivals.com Web site, festival chief James Barton denied rumours that people were hurt and said his staff took action before things got that far.

“Firstly let me mitigate what happened when I say that when David Guetta was booked to headline the Cream arena it was back in January or February and his popularity was not what it is now,” he said, explaining how the crowd in the front of the stage was much larger than originally anticipated.

“As those that were at the show will already know, the tent became so overcrowded that there were some issues with crushing and this led to us taking David off stage to prevent any injuries to our crowd.

“There has been various rumours, but I can assure you no one suffered any serious injuries. I was at the arena at the time and even though David leaving the stage affected people’s enjoyment it was totally the right thing to do, our customer’s safety has to be priority.

“David returned to the stage to a hero’s welcome and delivered a set that will go down in the Creamfields history books. I was there with him in the booth and the noise was unbelievable.”

This year’s Aug. 29-30 bash at Daresbury, Cheshire, pulled 30,000 per day, establishing it as the U.K.’s No. 1 outdoor dance event.

Although the ticket price for Creamfields 2009 was reduced to £100 to help dance fans deal with the recession, it was still able to book a lineup that included Dizzee Rascal, Tiesto, Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia and Basement Jaxx.