- Music
- 02 Sep 13
Electric Picnic organiser Melvin Benn is hoping to increase crowd numbers at the 2014 festival following this year’s 35,000-capacity sellout.
“I will be talking with Laois County Council about the possibility of increasing capacity by perhaps another 5,000,” he reveals before adding, “I’m very happy how this year’s event has gone. The Gardai ran a fantastic traffic management plan; there were hardly any traffic jams. We are very happy with all the elements of organisation. I think there’s room to get bigger for certain. I am delighted with how everything went; it really is a fantastic event.”
An official ‘thank you’ was said to the Picnic team of paramedics “who battled hard to prevent what could have resulted in significant casualties, from a batch of harmful drugs which have been doing the rounds of European festivals.”
A warning was issued on Saturday about the ‘Casper’/‘Blue Ghost’ ecstasy pills, which are being blamed for a spate of adverse reactions in Ireland.
Rogue ecstasy is also being blamed for two deaths at the unconnected Electric Zoo EDM festival in New York, which was shut down yesterday as a precautionary measure. Four other people are being treated in hospital.
Meanwhile, scroll down to our Multimedia section for extensive Electric Picnic photo galleries.