Features
Festivals Warn Of Legal Highs
On the May bank holiday (May 4) major UK festivals including Glastonbury, Isle of Wight Festival, T in the Park and Bestival blacked out their websites and replaced them with a digital roulette wheel as part of the Association of Independent Festivals’ initiative to warn of the dangers of legal highs.
Shown on Glastonbury Festival's official site May 4.
In 2014, AIF’s “Don’t Be In The Dark” campaign involved more than 20 music festivals participating in an online blackout, which saw the homepages of their respective official websites replaced for 24 hours by a message highlighting the dangers of legal chemical substances. This campaign has already attracted global media attention and expects to reach more than 20 million people on social media.
This year AIF has again teamed up again with legal highs charity Angelus to show the roulette wheel and send out a warning that says: “You Could Lose the Lot on Legal Highs”. The blackout page leads to an infographic displaying key statistics, facts and advice about legal highs.
It includes information and guidance about nitrous oxide, so-called laughing gas, following growing concerns about its use by young people. To further illustrate the growing dangers surrounding legal highs, in 2012 there were 73 new substances, in 2013 there 81 more and last year the figure rose to 101. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were at least 60 recorded deaths from legal substances in 2014.
The Royal Edinburgh Hospital Toxins Unit recorded 114 admissions from legal drugs between March and August 2014. Other major festivals participating in this year’s campaign include Secret Garden Party, Lovebox and Parklife.
Paul Reed, general manager of AIF, said, “Following the huge success of this campaign last year we felt that it was important to revisit it in 2015. “We want all events this summer to be safe, enjoyable environments for music fans. This is an important message and we are very pleased to say that support for this initiative is growing, with over 40 festivals participating this year.”