Stereosonic music festival goers have displayed “disappointing” behaviour.
Stereosonic is an annual music festival that travels around Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. It presents a mix of electronic and dance music and in the first show in Sydney, it attracted 48,000 people.
It’s meant to be fun. For dancing. For a good time.
But, overnight NSW Police have confirmed that a 25-year-old from Oyster Bay died in hospital after suffering injuries while attending Stereosonic. How and why she died is still not known.
Another person, aged just 22, was rushed to hospital in critical condition and has since been in an induced coma.
And, police made 69 drug related arrests at the event yesterday.
The NSW Police had to engage a secure operation during Stereosonic, which included the police dog sniffer unit, Public Order and Riot Squad and Mounted Unit, in attempts to protect the festival’s safety.
Of those 69 who were arrested, 57 have been charged with possessing MDMA, which is the active element in ecstasy, and one with LSD. Another 23 were cautioned for cannabis use.
According to the ABC, two men were allegedly found trying to drill holes on the side of the building, where Stereosonic was being held, to hide drugs at the venue. The site was subsequently sent into lock down.
Watch one of the videos from Stereosonic. (Post continues after video.)
The commander of the Police Operation involved with Stereosonic and Assistant Commissioner, Frank Mennilli, has voiced his utter frustration at the festival goers.
“The police operation is about minimising harm and providing a safe and secure environment for revellers to have a good time.
“The operation is still underway, and we already have 69 people charged for drug possession and supply.
“This number is alarming and disappointing, especially after we warned revellers about the dangers of drug use.”
Whilst many people are questioning the continued drug use at Stereosonic, and other music festivals, the number of arrests has significantly decreased from last year.
The 2014 Steresonic event in Sydney saw the arrests of 221 people, 120 in Melbourne and 103 in Brisbane. Similar to this year, the behaviour in 2014 was also described as “disappointing”.
Stereosonic has continued to express zero-tolerance approach to drugs, but many ticket holders are dismissive of their requests.
Scroll through some of the social media photos from Stereosonic this year. (Post continues after gallery.)
Stereosonic
Many users have taken to social media to criticise the “disgusting” behaviour of those attending Stereosonic.
One Facebook user wrote:
“Was disgusted with some of the feral behaviour me and my young family had to witness on our way to the Taylor Swift concert. Was a relief to get into ANZ stadium to be around other civilised people.”
Others have criticised the Police Force’s approach to drug control claiming that drug testing booths should be implemented and more awareness should be raised.
The decrease in arrests could be related to the significant drop in individuals who attended the event, which was 100,000 less than expected.
Earlier today, Stereosonic issued their “deepest condolensces” to the “patron” who died after attending the festival. In a post the company wrote:
“Totem Onelove conveys our deepest condolences to the friends and family of the patron who tragically passed away on Saturday night at Sydney Stereosonic. As it is a matter with the NSW Police and Coroner we cannot make any further statements or comment.
We appeal to our audience that they stay safe and look out for each other.”
The Police are preparing a report for the coroner regarding the individual’s death.
Top Comments
Do they go to these festivals to enjoy the music or to take drugs? Never could understand why people need something so they can "enjoy" themselves. Why bother spending money on a ticket when they could just be sitting at home doing the same thing. Obviously the music is just an aside.
It's all about the atmosphere. It's always better to do drugs in company, and these events are full of people doing the same thing who are in the same headspace. Sure, it's about the drugs but the music, company and general atmosphere is what makes these festivals great.
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People always have and always will take drugs and drink alcohol. We might as well accept it, no matter how educated or aware of the risks they are, THEY STILL WILL DO IT. My vote is for making the process safe (drug testing booths) or even legalise recreational drugs - take the entire criminal element out of the equation and use the money that was allocated for police, courts, incarceration. Hospitalisations etc. and put it towards dealing with the reasons why people might be inclined to take drugs, and provide a taxable revenue stream as well.
I agree. Just like needle-exchange services, there are ways of minimising risk. This can have flow-on benefits for individuals and the entire community.