Download Festival Launch Investigation After Fans Get Sick

Festival organizers Live Nation are launching an investigation after fans at this past weekend’s Download Festival began falling ill during the festival proceedings.

According to the BBC, event organizers had to shut down two food vendors at the festival after medics began to “see a pattern” of fans becoming unwell.

A spokesperson for the North West Leicestershire District Council noted that there had been four calls from festival attendees and a total of six people who became unwell at the weekend metal festival. However, even more fans on social media had come forward describing symptoms of food poisoning.

The BBC spoke with some of the attendees about their discomfort. Will Ellis explained, “We got our food, sat at the benches in the village and enjoyed our meals not knowing what was to come.” He added that he woke up the next morning “with the most painful stomach ache,” and that a case of diarrhea ruined his festival experience for most of the next day.

Another attendee, Megan Souster, told the BBC that she had “never been so ill in my life,” starting to feel the effects on Saturday night and spending most of Sunday in her tent, not feeling well enough to check out all the bands. “I was too unwell to make it to a medical tent. My partner had to care for me,” she explained. Once assistance arrived to check on her, she revealed that she was asked what she had eaten, giving her the first notion that her case might not be isolated. “It has taken me four days to get better. Even now I still don’t feel myself,” she added.

One of the festival’s musicians, Sean Smith of The Raiders, also reported on social media that he had food poisoning and had been “sick all night.” Smith reportedly had to be hospitalized and received intravenous fluids.

Paul Sanders, head of community services for the North West Leicestershire District Council, told the BBC, “We worked with the event organizer to investigate two food vendors, both of which were closed by the event organizer over the course of the weekend. We are aware of reports of people feeling unwell and will continue to investigate. Anyone continuing to feel unwell following the Download Festival should contact their GP in the first instance.”

Live Nation stated that all the food traders at the weekend festival were inspected prior to and during the event. A spokesman for the concert giant added, “Two vendors were closed and removed from the site as they failed to meet the standards of Environment Health and the local authority. Download Festival operates a robust 24-hour welfare operation including staff and welfare tents to support unwell customers throughout the site.”

According to FoodPoisoningNews.com, reports from the medical tent claimed that “as many as 500 people” were affected by what was described as a “real food poisoning epidemic.”

The Mirror also reported on the string of food-related illnesses, adding that the culprit appears to have been a British delicacy, pointing to a vendor that had been selling Yorkshire pudding wraps. Bronwyn Gwillym told the paper, “I hand sanitized my hands and used cutlery provided. I felt fine that night but I woke up at around 3-4am with severe cramps.” She reported having a fever and dealing with diarrhea and sickness throughout the weekend, missing most of the performances. A separate unidentified attendee told the paper, “The medics took loads of notes, of where, when and exactly what I ate in my Yorkshire pudding.”

Sean Smith of The Raiders, meanwhile, revealed that he had his food poisoning incident after consuming a beef brisket dish.

This is not the first time a festival has dealt with an illness outbreak. Many will remember issues in the U.S. last year with the Blue Ridge Rock Festival being investigated after a disastrous series of events led to the festival’s early cancellation.