A festival dubbed the ‘biggest ever gathering for alternative people’ has been dubbed ‘not fit for purpose’ after one person fainted and thousands of people were left queuing for three hours in blistering hear.
Bludfest, organised by singer-songwriter Yungblood, real name Dominic Richard Harrison took place the the Milton Keyes Bowl this weekend.
The Doncaster-born 27-year-old organised the one-day festival, which he headlined himself, but fans were left disappointed at the ‘chaotic’ event.
One festival goer even told the BBC that she had passed out while queuing in the unbearable heat without water and was never able to make it into the venue.
Another claimed to the Tab that security staff ‘didn’t care in the slightest about the wellbeing of the queue’ and were ‘smoking weed’.
Following the day event, fans took to social media to share their ‘horrific’ experiences, detailing four hour long queues without water or toilets.
Some frustrated fans reported completely missing some of the acts with some even claiming to have turned round and given up after queuing for hours in the blistering heat where there were no refilling stations available.
Pictured: one TikToker described the queue as the longest they had ever seen. Eager fans of the singer-song writer Yungblud , flocked to the artist’s first ever festival on Sunday but were gutted after they arrived to a venue ‘not fit for purpose’
Following the day event, fans took to social media to share their ‘horrific’ experiences, detailing four hour long queues without water outside the National Bowl in Milton Keynes. One fan shared their experience on TikTok (pictured) of long queues
Fans described begging security for water after finishing their own supplies, only to be refused by staff who showed an ‘awful’ lack of care.
Alongside sweltering queues where fans reported being denied water by security, disabled festival goers also pointed to a number of hazards that made access extremely difficult for wheelchair users, with an accessible car parking spot £27, more than half the cost of the ticket itself.
Responding to claims that members of security were seen ‘smoking marijuana while on the job, AEG said: ‘AEG have strict policies regarding illegal substances and have forwarded this allegation to the appropriate external team for a thorough investigation of this claim.’
In one individual’s TikTok, they half critically posted a video of the huge winding queues alongside the caption: ‘When you wait three hours in the heat with no water to see your faves’.
Another posted a video with the caption: ‘Queue is horrendous at Bludfest. Jazmin [Bean, the opening act] is playing and hardly anyone is in yet’ while a third said they didn’t think the venue was ‘fit for purpose’.
Some attendees reported security at the festival were busy smoking weed while attendees waited in the powerful heat.
Speaking the the BBC about the experience at the brand new summer festival, Jessica Hedges, 21, from Northampton, detailed her nightmare day that ended with her at home recovering from heatstroke, having not seen a single act.
She described seeing a number of people, including children, overheating in the sun.
One festival goer even told the BBC that she had passed out while queuing in the unbearable heat and was never able to make it into the venue
The host of the event, Yungblud, pictured. The events were ticketed at what was said to be an ‘accessible’ price of just below £50, a figure comparably lower than other similar events
Alongside sweltering queues where fans reported being denied water by security, disabled festival goers also pointed to a number of hazards that made access extremely difficult for wheelchair user
‘Many people fainted; threw up. People went home and kids were overheating,’ she explained.
‘We had been begging for water and were told we’d get it once we were in the venue… I eventually passed out and never made it into the venue.’
Jessica said that security staff had failed to offer any support or sympathy after she nearly collapsed in the exhausting queues.
‘Four hours later, after sitting with paramedics for an hour, I am now home with heatstroke and didn’t get in to see a single act,’ she said.
Jessica and her friend had joined the queue at 12:45pm ahead of time the gates were due to open at 1pm.
The two had hoped to watch Nessa Barrett, who was on stage at 3:35pm, but by 4:15pm they were still queuing with no sign of the entrance in sight.
The festival was marketed as the ‘biggest ever gathering’ for alternative people where ‘the outsider gets to come inside’.
In TikTok videos, YungBlud explained that he wanted it to be a space for people to ‘make friends’ and it will be the ‘biggest gathering of our culture ever’ with a ‘Camden market inspired pub’ inside.
Other festival goers gave similar reports of negligence on behalf of security staff who they claimed either weren’t on hand to offer water or refused to do so for those queuing for hours. One described ‘the lack of care’ as ‘awful’.
One wrote: ‘Bludfest is a mess. I don’t believe it’s Dom’s fault, but this is horrendous. Me and my partner arrived at 11 and never got in. The queue is near three hours long. There’s people passing out. There’s disabled people there (including myself and there’s no staff anywhere offering water’.
A second described: ‘I waited almost four hours an almost passed out as I drank all my water and non of the security would give me any.’
A third said: ‘It was horrific, I’m glad someone actually did something to get it brought to life! The worst thing for me is that there were no medical personnel and the parking staff seemed puzzled and confused as to why I would ask such a thing.’
Other festival goers gave similar reports of negligence on behalf of security staff who they claimed either weren’t on hand to offer water or refused to do so for those queuing for hours
Yungblud (pictured) – often referred to as Dom by his fans – said ‘music should be accessible to everyone’
The events were ticketed at what was said to be an ‘accessible’ price of just below £50, a figure comparably lower than other similar events.
Yungblud – often referred to as Dom by his fans – said ‘music should be accessible to everyone’.
Others who performed sets at the festival were Lil Yachty, Soft Play, Jazmin Bean and The Damned.
Since the chaotic festival, promoter AEG Presents has apologised to fans who experienced delays and said the wait was down to ‘heightened security measures’.
Just a week before the Milton Keynes festival took place, one man was stabbed at the same venue, at the Reggae Land festival which lead to two men being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
A spokesperson for AEG has since apologised.
They told FEMAIL: ‘These delays were due to rigorous and heightened security measures, put in place following recent unprecedented events which have taken place in the UK, to create the safest environment possible for fans arriving onsite, which is our number one priority.
‘We always endeavour to allow fans into the venue as quickly as possible, whilst at the same time working with local authorities to ensure all essential security checks are carried out thoroughly.
‘As part of our pre-event messaging, we encouraged all ticketholders to come prepared for the hot weather and our teams on the ground assisted with handing out water, communicating shaded areas, and directing guests in need of additional assistance to the nearest welfare and medic stations. Upon the local authorities and security giving us the relevant permissions, we also opened additional gates and entrances.
‘Accessibility was at the heart of our planning for Bludfest, as it is for all AEG events. We put in place a vast range of measures including a dedicated accessible entrance, level access throughout the site, additional facilities such as toilets and seating, access wristbands and an expanded platform among other initiatives.
‘Accessibility is a major priority for us and for the fact some fans felt we didn’t meet their needs on the day, we would like to say sorry.
‘We have taken on board all the feedback received and will make every endeavour to ensure appropriate changes are implemented in the future.’