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Organisers of Oasis Slane gig promise review to tackle problems
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
The organisers of the controversial Oasis concert at Slane have admitted there were problems and say they will work to prevent a repeat at future gigs at the famous venue.
The owner of Slane Castle also acknowledged yesterday there were "serious problems" at Saturday's event.
As concert-goers claimed they feared for their safety at the 80,000-capacity venue, Lord Henry Mountcharles pledged to address the issues raised.
Promoter MCD has also asked anyone with complaints to get in touch directly by email at contact@mcd.ie.
All the problems highlighted by fans will be looked at -- including transport, queues for bars, and access to the venue -- at a debriefing meeting to be held in the coming weeks.
MCD, Lord Mountcharles, Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann, and the gardai will attend the meeting; but it is understood that there will be no fans' representatives present.
Their stories continued to emerge yesterday with some telling how they waited in ditches in the cold to get home, while others told how they witnessed serious assaults and drug busts in the VIP area.
Others experienced overcrowding and some crushing, while one woman fan was kicked in the face.
MCD maintained that attendance and capacity at the concert was 80,000, amid claims that more had gained entry without having their tickets checked. They said ticket scanning checks were suspended for about 30 minutes shortly after 6.35pm at one entrance to ease queues and a build-up of people through the forest laneway.
"However, at the same time the gate behind them at the bridge entrance was closed thus ensuring that no one could enter the system knowing that ticket scanning had been temporarily suspended."
"All the issues raised above will be immediately addressed at the post-event debrief meeting and changes will be implemented as required for future Slane concerts," MCD said.
Lord Mountcharles said there were "serious problems" with transport which "have to be looked into".
He admitted that there were problems at the Dublin entrance and said a comprehensive review would be carried out by the organisers and the gardai. He also acknowledged on RTE's 'Liveline' that he was aware of incidents taking place in the VIP area -- where celebrities mingled with customers who paid premium prices -- which was situated in front of the castle. However, he declined to comment any further when contacted by the Irish Independent last night.
Dublin Bus continued to come in for flak from disgruntled customers, with complaints of six-hour bus journeys. After saying on Sunday that they had everyone out of Slane by 2am, Dublin Bus said yesterday that buses "were unfortunately delayed en route to the city due to traffic volumes".
Terry Fahy from East Wall said he saw a teenager fall in between buses while having a fit -- and no one came to his aid.
He also said that people were "ushered like cattle" around the venue. "When we left the concert we headed out on a country road and headed for two miles," he said. "We passed about 50 buses and a crowd of us asked what the story was. We were told to sit in a ditch and there were more buses from Navan on the way.
"We had to sit in the ditch at the side of the road in the freezing cold. In between two buses we saw a young lad fall, crack his head and have a fit."
Mr Fahy said that the only people who helped were an off-duty nurse and the teenager's friends.
Another man, who did not wish to be named, paid tribute to the gardai who helped break up a fight and seized drugs in the VIP area.
The man, who described the concert as "pretty brutal", said he saw a punter being brought away with his "face burst open".
However, Noel Gallagher from Oasis said on his blog that he had had a "great night".
"As spectacles go (and I don't mean the ones you wear) Slane Castle takes some beating," he said.
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Comments
30 Comments
I was a bus driver working at Slane . Never before was i parked so far from town , didnt have a ticket for concert but just walked in.
Too many people out of it, Toliets were closed. Times for groups wrong
Posted by steve | 27.06.09, 15:54 GMT
I really enjoyed d concert but felt it was ridiculas to expect people to have to walk for a solid two and a half hours after the concert to get to the place where the taxis and buses were.organisers are being greedy leaveing in so many people if the exit roads cant cope with the volume of people entering and leaveing.only one bar open where we qued for one hour but maybe it was a good idea as so many people were very drunk and didnt need more oasis never plyed"shes electric"disapointed !
Posted by yvonne | 25.06.09, 00:03 GMT
Total mayhem!! My girlfriend and I were in Dublin for her birthday weekend and The Slane Castle gig was supposed to be the highlight. Sadly it turned out to be a chaotic & shambolic day. Dumped miles from the venue, 3 hours of being herded like cattle just to get in, queuing for an hour to get a beer. I've been to massive gigs like this before and have never seen such a poor set up. The organisers should be ashamed of themselves. Were Oasis any good? Couldn't say, left early to avoid the chaos!
Posted by Mark | 24.06.09, 09:42 GMT
came by car from north wales, got in 7p.m. after almost an hour walking up the winding lane, it was horrendous with some festival goers clearly wasted and getting agitated with the long walk,we got in without checking our tickets but never went to the bar or the toilets as the queues were too long and the place was filled to capacity,leaving before the end was easier down the main road,we drove away via the back road, no traffic or hassle,rain would have caused a major h&s issue,gig was brill
Posted by sharon | 23.06.09, 23:23 GMT
Been going to gigs for over 20yrs never experienced such an unorganized event! Walking(shuffling) through the wooded area was rediculous, got to the venue at 7.45(left Dublin at 3pm) missing most of the bands. Never once got asked for a ticket! Was told we would half to go back the way we came in, so left at 9.30 (with few 100 others) but walked out to a road! Local resident were cashing in selling water/hot dogs etc at their gates! No complaints about the bands just the SHAMBOLIC ORGANIZATION
Posted by Lesley | 23.06.09, 23:01 GMT
This event was a disgrace. I was working at it and it should never be allowed again. The stewarding staff for the most part were inexperienced many told me it was their first time doing something like this. There was no briefings for our company before it, there was clearly no drug searches at the gates, no sniffer dogs etc. Some of the staff were so rude to customers i was embarrassed to be with them. Disgrace plain and simple
Posted by Anon | 23.06.09, 21:50 GMT
the bar situation is ridiculous, surely these people can see they are losing a fortune by not providing enough bar space and a descent queing system, waiting an hour for a pint is above and beyond!
Posted by Mihe | 23.06.09, 16:39 GMT
was in slane 95<r.e.m, oasis specail guests.can't remember queuing somuch, but what a day all worth it.
Posted by ULA | 23.06.09, 15:50 GMT
yes worst concert i have ever been to this was a venue not fit for purpose, herded around like cattle , all bands were failry average sound was terrible, food and drink was non existence or just over crowded and badly set up - concerts should be great fun and allow you to have a great day and night out this concert at Slane Castle was a huge disappointment! won't ever be going to slane castle to see any other bands!
Posted by Mark | 23.06.09, 15:27 GMT
I attended the gig with a few friends and the only complaint I had were the access to the bars. I paid £75 for a ticket and expected to be able to buy a pint without an hour que only to be told that I could have a max 2 drinks at 6 euros each. The event was quite long so it was thirsty business. There were more burger stands and only 2 bars to cover 100,000 people at the very least.
Posted by J.Smith | 23.06.09, 13:52 GMT
wat a load of muck i'm reading by the previous posters here!! I've seen Oasis 7 times now and that was the best.
F***in Biblical!! great gig, great venue!!!
live forever!!
Posted by BiblicalRoasty | 23.06.09, 13:21 GMT
what kind of "truly great rock venue" has the big screens a whole two seconds behind the actual live performance - Ryan in answer to your question, all of them. Sound doesn't travel as fast as light and magic wands havent been evented yet.
Posted by GDW | 23.06.09, 13:06 GMT
Oasis were excellent but the worst organised music event in history! I've been to Slane before but have never witnessed such chaos and such a disregard for public safety from the Stewards and Gardai. I entered the extremely overcrowded wooded area at 4:30 and got in at 6:45 without having my ticket checked once. How nobody was seriously injured on that lane is a miracle.Then a 2 hour walk out of Slane before we managed to get a bus!??
MCD, the Gardai and Lord Mountcharles should be ashamed!!
Posted by M.T. | 23.06.09, 12:41 GMT
Had the people who are complaining never been to Slane before ?? Walking for miles, lack of toilets and queues are par for the course. What else can you expect from a gig in a field in a tiny village for 80,000 people ?!
Posted by Beenie | 23.06.09, 10:48 GMT
Hard to believe that Slane has got it so wrong. If this had been the first time the venue was used, it may be excusable, but Slane has been hosting 80,000 crowd gigs for decades!
I've attended a few over the years, the most memorable for me was Robbie Williams, but the organisation was fine. (Considering you are piling 80,000 people onto a country hill, in the middle of nowhere, with no real road infrastructure)
You'd have really thought that Slane would improve over the years, not get worse.
Posted by Stephen | 23.06.09, 10:48 GMT
I came over from Scotland and although Oasis were outstanding the event itself was a shambles.I can not believe having paid for buses we would be dropped off miles away.This venue is an accident waiting to happen . I saw people fighting trying to get up to the stadium and fencing torn down by que jumpers. No one checked we had tickets all the way into the venue and toileting arrangements were prehistoric. If it had rained people would never have been able to get out and possibly crushed.
Posted by LIAM.C..... | 23.06.09, 01:40 GMT
came all the way to ireland to view my favourtie rock band(oasis) in what is reguarded as an amazing venue, ok it may look great seeing all those people in a field jumping up and down but when your at the top of the hill the stage is pointless. the organization was god awful. got on dublin bus at 4pm, arrived at 5 and the place resembled a war zone, casualties everywhere. we thought 5pm would have been ample timing for kasabian but didnt get in until after 7pm. left early best thing all day.
Posted by sim | 22.06.09, 22:20 GMT
outstanding concert & venue :-) the reporter has got it spot on!!
Posted by Paul | 22.06.09, 22:20 GMT
2 exits for 80,000 people...I walked by 2 big gates on the way out and why these gates were'nt opened is beyond me....an absolute disgrace...
Posted by Kevin | 22.06.09, 17:56 GMT
I thought Oasis were brilliant, the whole day was fantastic. We drove to the gig and parked about 3km outside the town in a residential house who were charging €10 in their field.Thought this to be reasonble.only complaint i had was the public toilet displays of men and WOMEN!-gross. More porta-loos next year.
Posted by Caz | 22.06.09, 17:34 GMT
30 Comments