Electric Zoo, an electronic dance music festival in New York City, was marred by several complications in a weekend that ended in chaos as fans stormed past gates to enter the event on its final day.
Clips shared on social media show a crowd of festivalgoers piling past security measures after the festival announced it wouldn’t let additional people into the site due to reaching capacity on Sunday evening.
I was afraid this was going to happen. Hundreds of people rush the gates at Electric Zoo after being denied entrance due to the festival reaching its capacity limit 🤕pic.twitter.com/oEGj0NvvWJ
— GDE (@GlobalDanceGDE) September 4, 2023
Electric Zoo also canceled the first day of the event this year, citing “global supply chain disruptions” which the festival said led to “unexpected delays” in the construction of its main stage, music magazine BrooklynVegan reported.
The second day of the festival saw setbacks, too, after its start time was delayed by two hours.
Nikademis, who was scheduled to perform his first-ever Electric Zoo set, told CBS New York that he found out about the delay and the cancellation of his act “through social media like everyone else.”
“There was no communication to me otherwise, and honestly, there still hasn’t been much communication about what’s going on,” the artist said.
Festivalgoers also cited wait times of three hours or more at will call, as well as a main stage that was closed for approximately two hours past initial start time on Saturday.
By Sunday, Electric Zoo pointed to Friday’s cancellation as the cause for “challenges” on its final day.
“For the safety and well-being of everyone on site, we will not be admitting any additional attendees today,” the festival wrote in a social media post.
Dear Electric Zoo Family,⁰
We are so thankful for the overwhelming support and patience you’ve shown this year after the challenges we’ve faced over the weekend.⁰
It is with deep regret that we need to inform you that due to the challenges caused by Friday cancelation, we have…— Electric Zoo Festival (@ElectricZooNY) September 3, 2023
Footage shared on social media shows packed crowds waiting to get past security on Sunday before fans decided to rush past the gates.
The New York Police Department did not report any arrests, according to the New York Post.
Users on the festival’s Reddit community noted that rushing the gates created a “very, very unsafe situation” while another referred to it as a “cluster fuck.”
“Every single stage is PACKED and the common spaces are so congested you can barely walk,” one Reddit user wrote.
“The organizers of this event should be ashamed for creating such a dangerous environment. I’ve been to a lot of festivals and shows and never experienced anything like this. I am hoping the best for all my rave fam out there, please get home safe.”
The festival, which began in 2009, was acquired last year by an investment group that owns Brooklyn venue and nightclub Avant Gardner.
Representatives for Electric Zoo did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
