Two guests fainted during a crowded The Minds of 99 concert at Smukfest in Skanderborg on Saturday evening. The festival’s security chief says the medical response worked as intended.
DR reported on Sunday that security chief Thomas Rydahl confirmed the two fainting cases. According to Rydahl, festival staff got both people back on their feet quickly, with the medical response team present at the scene.
Smukfest said on Saturday evening that about ten guests were squeezed so badly that they had to be helped over the counter of a bar. That account was first reported by DR P3. Several guests have since described the conditions in front of the stage as unsafe and chaotic.
Rydahl acknowledged that some guests were frightened during the concert by The Minds of 99. He said both he personally and the festival feel bad about it, and that the aim is a festival where people can enjoy themselves.
Main entrance closed
About half an hour into the set, the area in front of Bøgescenerne was so packed that people were turned away. The main entrance behind the stage area, which leads onto the festival site, was blocked. DR notes that several entrances were also closed in 2023 because of high interest, leaving guests unable to get in.
According to Smukfest, the situation developed at the start of the concert. After the third song, and in agreement with security staff, lead singer Niels Brandt asked the audience to look after one another. DR’s P3 photographer, who was in the photo pit, reported that Brandt at one point called for a guard because a person was being crushed in the crowd.
Rydahl explained that the pressure built when a large number of guests suddenly arrived from an area the festival had not expected. Per his account, some had been watching Ude Af Kontrol on Stjernescenen and wanted to catch the beginning of The Minds of 99. That created pressure in two isolated areas where staff intervened.
The security chief said the festival did everything it could, but that such situations must not arise. He said Smukfest will now evaluate whether it could have handled the crowd better, describing the setup as a very large operation that is taken seriously.
Some of the guests DR spoke to feared an accident could occur and doubted whether help could reach people in the dense crowd. Rydahl rejected that concern, stating that all escape routes remained freely passable throughout. He added that the medical response also functioned as it should.
The festival in Skanderborg has drawn attention for other reasons in recent years, including traffic problems around the site.
