Recent news states that the Future Music Festival Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was cancelled due to several overdoses resulting in death over the weekend. A recent statement on the festivals Facebook page stated, In the words of ACP Tuan Mohan Singh, District Police Chief, IPD Cheras, “Police worked closely with event organizers, security, Bukit Jalil Stadium and a number of other government agencies in the planning process. A high visibility police operation featuring over 100 police members was in place to work across crowd control and drug detection activities.” The festival was to be headlined by big acts Pharrell Williams, Armin Van Buuren, Deasmau5 and many others. Refund information will be available to ticketholders at http://www.futuremusicfestival.asia/2014/.
This tragic news is the second festival of the weekend reporting deaths after the recent news of a fatal car accident killing two at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. It was reported that a highly intoxicated driver drove a vehicle into a crowd killing two and injuring several others. The festival proceeded, but the vibe was surely affected by the horrible news.
The 2014 Festival season is just getting into motion. Is this going to be a growing trend for 2014 or are festival fans going to learn from these tragic events and party responsibly? Almost all festivals are equipped with medical staff, security and safety measures, but this is never enough. Fans must learn to party responsibly, watch out for themselves and each other. If not, the environment that festival fans seek could fully be lost. Let’s learn from these mistakes folks.