Saturday night’s Avicii concert in Toronto resulted in 29 fans having to be hospitalized for drug and alcohol consumption related health problems, according to The Toronto Star.
Consequence of Sound reports that EMS was on site at the concert, which was estimated to have about 20,000 people attending. EMS personnel says they were soon “overwhelmed” with the amount of people who needed to be treated for drug and alcohol related illnesses. Ten people had to go to the hospital before Avicii even came up onstage. According to local news reports, five people are still listed in serious condition, but are expected to be OK. One person was arrested on drug charges as a result of the weekend’s events.
Toronto city councilmembers are considering the overdoses a side effect of the fact that the event welcomed all ages. The show’s promoter, Ink Entertainment, organized a show that teenagers could attend, rather than setting an 18 or 21+ age limit.
“This only proves that it doesn’t matter whether these events are held on privately owned or government lands, they are dangerous events to hold as ‘all-ages,’ allowing kids to be present,” Toronto city councilman Giorgio Mammoliti. “They say it takes a village to raise a child and, as a member of that village, I want to stop the irresponsible decisions made by other parents.” Mammoliti also added that he plans to ask Ink Entertainment to pay the hospital bills.
Festival safety has already been a topic of much discussion this year. Miami’s Ultra Music Festival was also the subject of scrutiny after the festival nearly had to be canceled when a security guard was trampled. A 21-year-old man also died at the festival. City council members also called for a stop to the festivities, and 76 attendees were arrested.
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