Police, Fed Square bosses to review future concerts after cancelled show

The last-minute cancellation of a free concert featuring Amyl and the Sniffers on Friday night was necessary to avoid a potentially catastrophic crowd crush after hundreds of people pushed through barriers at the open-air venue, the head of Federation Square says.

The incident has prompted a review of future concerts at the public square, with police and management to meet on Monday.

Federation Square reached its capacity of 10,000 people at 7.40pm, according to management, and entry to the concert was closed. The perimeter of the public square was surrounded in high temporary security fencing, which was clad in blue plastic preventing the swelling crowds gathering outside from viewing the free concert from afar.

Thousands of music fans were devastated when, about 15 minutes before Amyl and the Sniffers were set to take the stage at 8.30pm, the warm-up band was cut off mid-song and a cancellation message was displayed on the large screen.

The cancellation came as one gate was rushed while support act Public Figures were nearing the end of their set. As security swarmed to one entrance, a crowd gathering on the Yarra River side of the square opened the gates and hundreds more people swarmed into the square, running past security guards.

On Saturday, Katrina Sedgwick, chief executive of Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation – which manages Federation Square – defended the levels of security for the event and said sufficient planning had taken place beforehand.

“There was a large group of people seeking to breach the perimeter after the event was full, and once they had, it was not possible to control the site, and we are not prepared to have an event that has a real risk of crowd crush,” Sedgwick said.

Sedgwick apologised on Saturday both to Amyl and the Sniffers – who expressed frustration on social media at the cancellation – and to the thousands of fans who missed out on seeing them perform.

“We are so sorry that so many fans are so disappointed, and we sincerely apologise to the bands who were devastated, but as I say, Fed Square will always put safety first,” Sedgwick said.

Despite the cancellation, Sedgwick said Federation Square – which has hosted performances by major acts this year including Robbie Williams and Kneecap – was still an appropriate venue for free concerts.

“We just didn’t anticipate hundreds of people damaging property,” she said. “We are committed to being able to keep on doing this [hosting free concerts]. We’re not going to let last night spoil that, but we are going to have to review how we do it, and there will be changes,” she said.

She also insisted that the venue’s security was sufficient. Sedgwick did not disclose how many security guards were working at Federation Square for the event but confirmed there were “dozens” and did not dispute a claim there were about 50 present on Friday night.

“We closed the square when it was at capacity, and it was fenced off with appropriate fencing and an appropriate level of security for this kind of event. We had a very detailed plan.”

A number of previous concerts at the venue this year, including Kneecap, Caribou, and punk rock band Eddy Current Suppression Ring last month, did not have the security fencing that was in place on Friday night. In response to questions, a Federation Square spokeswoman said fencing was used “when a significant crowd is expected”, citing recent concerts by Robbie Williams and King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard.

Management did not respond to questions about why the fencing was clad in opaque blue plastic, which blocked the view for crowds outside the venue and was a key source of frustration for fans.

Security guards working to stop fans breaching the fences were subject to aggression and inappropriate language, Sedgwick said.

Police Minister Anthony Carbines said he understood the frustration from punters, but seemed to suggest Amyl and the Sniffers were potentially too popular an act to play the confined space.

“I think it was clearly a dynamic situation when you’ve got a lot of people present with a particular expectation that gets taken away. But in the end, community safety and public safety has to be the number one call. That was the call Federation Square management made,” he said.

“[Federation Square is] a great space we all love ... we don’t want to lose that, because sometimes particular popular events that might just not be fit for purpose, but we’ll let the experts give us some insights on that.”

Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush was asked about the incident on Saturday morning and confirmed there was a “risk to public safety”.

Officers were called to Federation Square after reports of people “attempting to gain access to an event before it was cancelled”, but detected no offences, Bush said.

He said police and the public square’s management would meet to review footage of the incident and make a call on whether free concerts could still be held in the square.

A Federation Square spokeswoman confirmed on Saturday afternoon that the decision to cancel the event was made by its “safety teams and management”, not police.

The Australian band, which has developed a huge following in recent years, was the opening act for AC/DC at their Wednesday night concert at the MCG.

Taking to social media after the cancellation, Amyl and the Sniffers’ lead vocalist, Amy Taylor, said the event had been cancelled because “the fences got crushed in and the cops shut it down” – a claim Federation Square management later denied.

“Fuming and ready to go,” she wrote, “we are so sorry the show is cancelled due to the event not organising proper security. The barriers being broken in has made them deem it unsafe to play.”

After cancelling the show, the band announced it was donating its gig fee to its fans “ACDC style”, and had put a $5000 bar tab on seven different venues in the city and inner north; The Tote, Last Chance Rock and Roll Bar, Labour in Vain, The Curtin Hotel, The Old Bar, Cherry Bar and Hells Kitchen, just a couple of hundred meters from Federation Square.

“We’re so f---ing sorry we couldn’t play. It sucks to not be able to play in our own hometown for free,” Taylor said in a video posted to Instagram. “We’re not doggin’ ya.”

“Have a drink on us, we’re really sorry, we really wanted to play. I was chucking a tantrum like no tomorrow, you can’t imagine it.”

Once the concert was cancelled, Hells Kitchen owner Russell Tarbett said patrons started “flying in the door”. Then he noticed he’d missed a call from the singer Taylor.

“She left a voice message to say that there was $5000 on the bar,” Tarbett said. “It was unreal. I felt like Santa Claus.”

Tarbett said he was extremely grateful for Amyl’s support at a time when live music venues were struggling in Melbourne.

“I don’t want to sound like a bleeding heart, but we’re struggling. I’m 61 now, if I was taking this sort of money that I take now when I was 40, trying to kick the bar off, I’d pack it in. The rent’s so high ... it’s bloody hard and stuff like this, it puts a big smile on your face.”

Shane Hilton, owner of Last Chance Rock & Roll, agreed – in a lengthy post on Instagram he said the band had done “more in 15 minutes & a couple of phone calls” for struggling music venues than anyone in local or state government in recent memory.

Patrons at Cherry Bar on Little Collins were also “blessed with the generosity of the announcement,” owner James Young said. The tab lasted the bar’s full house of 260 people about 45 minutes, he said.

Young said that about six years ago, Amyl and the Sniffers would play a 2am set on the bar’s stage for about $300, before they ascended into a major force in the Australian music scene.

Crowds at Federation Square refused to leave the square for 45 minutes, defying loudspeaker announcements and appeals by Sedgwick personally to exit the square, booing and chanting “we want Amyl”.

Instead teenagers in the crowd blared the band’s song Security – a song about a punter being locked out of a gig – on repeat on portable speakers instead. They sang, created a moshpit and crowd-surfed for an hour.

Amyl fans Meg Hill, Lyra Philp and Isabel Cook travelled from Apollo Bay for the gig and said they were disappointed that event staff didn’t anticipate the size of the crowd.

“I think people were pushing down the barriers, but they should have anticipated that,” Philp said.

“It’s a free event, a huge band, what are they thinking?”

With Isabel McMillain, Karl Quinn, Marta Pascual Juanola and Kieran Rooney

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