Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn speaks about drug-testing facilities and improving gender equality at festivals

Benn commended the crowd for their resilience last night in the face of awful weather conditions. In particular, he praised the crowd that turned out to see Pete Tong Presents Ibiza Classics last night, saying that they "danced as if they were on a beach in Ibiza."

The director also answered questions from Hot Press about the push to bring in drug testing facilities at festivals. He said that such facilities have been hugely successful in other places, but that the problem is essentially a legal one, and that it will require a government consultation before drug-testing facilities can be properly be brought into festivals in the UK & Ireland.

Benn also spoke about the efforts to improve gender equality on festival line-ups. Acknowledging that he's faced criticisms in the past for male-heavy line-ups, as with most festival organisers, Benn stated that while he would never "tokenistically" put anyone higher on the line-up than they deserve, he wants to encourage aspiring female musicians. In particular, he highlighted his new three-year project, 'ReBalance', which aims to give studio time to young, up and coming female musicians.