Photo: Wenn
Event organisers for T in the Park have been forced to apologise following criticism that poor signage, stewardship and traffic routes are causing major delays and safety concerns.
Festival-goers were forced to wait through the night in their attempts to leave the new Strathallan Castle site, after the pick-up points were plunged into mayhem when buses, taxis and pedestrian vehicles were all directed to use the same ring country road.
A statement on the official T in the Park Facebook page read "We would like to apologise to all those affected by the delays at the pick-up points last night. Access for vehicles into the event was restricted due to a knock on effect of approximately 500 people attempting to walk 3 miles back to an unofficial campsite who had not provided them with any other option (they ignored our advice to provide transport for fans camping there).”
They also said: "We'd like to apologise for any delays you may be experiencing as you leave T in the Park tonight. The wet weather is making it difficult to get you all out as quickly as we hoped but we are doing our best and with the help of some tractors and ground chips, we should have you away as soon as possible."
The gridlock led to many walking along the road in desperation, holding up traffic even more. Earlier this afternoon, it was confirmed that a man was knocked down by a coach when walking along one of the designated coach tracks. He was taken to hospital and his condition is unknown. Also, a 36-year-old man was found dead in the campsite area.
Elsewhere, other attendees expressed frustration at the lack of signage, with Lasse Dossmann, 20, stating “the stewards sent me in two completely different directions when I was looking for the East exit, they seemed to have no idea. There are no wooden boards to ease the mud, so it’s absolute mayhem".
“I love T in the Park but will not be coming again if things continue like this".
Writing on Facebook, festival-goer Matt Barrie said: "This is the worst ever T. You would think they'd have some people to properly organise the event. As far as I can see the venue isn't fit for purpose. Arena is either too small or badly laid out. Dangerous bottle-necks between stages is a disaster waiting to happen. Outside there's almost single track roads with some closed, why? What if a car or a bus breaks down? How's it getting out/emergency vehicles getting in? Also no metal treads in steep hills in the car parks (we pushed our own car out) no lighting on roads , nowhere near enough stewards and police and some didn't know much, some didn't speak English .
"People walking on the roads adding to the pick up drop off chaos. On the way up I saw a sign for the bus road made out of cardboard and the instructions written badly with a sharpie. A last min decision or planned? All of this is down to two things: lack of money being spent and the wrong location! A shambolic disaster."
T In The Park replied: "We have thousands of people working on this event."
So far the weekend has seen appearances from The Libertines, Alt-J, The Vaccines, Avicii, Kasabian, David Guetta, Sam Smith and many more.
Read our review of day one here and day two here.
T In The Park concludes this evening with performances from Noel Gallagher, The Stereophonics, Jamie T, The Prodigy and more.
