Amyl and the Sniffers gig cancelled last minute due to ‘crowd safety concerns’

Australian rock fans who gathered to see AC/DC’s opening act Amyl and the Sniffers have been left disappointed, with the free concert called off last minute due to “crowd safety concerns”.

The band was due to play Federation Square at 8.30pm on Friday, but as fans rolled in, they were quickly told to turn around.

The cancellation was announced on a large screen 10 to 15 minutes before the band was due to come on stage – sparking chants from the crowd estimated to be in the thousands.

Speaking over a crowd full of booing, Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation chief executive Katrina Sedgwick said a number of security breaches were to blame.

“We’re incredibly disappointed they’re not playing, but we have cancelled the gig,” Sedgwick told the crowd.

“Very, very disappointing. It’s got nothing to do with anybody in this crowd here. You’ve been an amazing crowd, you’ve been respectful, you’ve been safe, and you’ve been part of a great number of amazing gigs that we’ve hosted here.

“But, tonight we had a whole lot of breaches of our fences, repeatedly, and unfortunately that means we just can’t go on.”

In a statement, Sedgwick said it would have been “unsafe for the audience, staff and the band to continue with the show”.

“We did not make the decision lightly, and we are deeply, deeply sorry for any disappointment caused by this situation, however we simply could not continue,” she said.

“Our sincere apologies to the band and their fans.”

Taking to social media after the cancellation, the band’s lead vocalist, Amy Taylor, said the event had been cancelled because “the fences got crushed in and the cops shut it down”.

“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.”

Police said they were called to the square after reports of people “attempting to gain access to an event before it was cancelled”.

“No offences were detected,” a spokesperson said.

The support act, Public Figures, played for around 40 minutes before officials stepped on stage around 15 minutes before Amyl and the Sniffers were due to perform to announce the cancellation.

Following the announcement, the tens of thousands of fans quickly dispersed. As of 9.30pm, only a dozen people were left in the square.

Amyl fans Meg Hill and Lyra Philp 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?”

Isabel Cook, also from Apollo Bay, said she spent all of her spare money on travelling to the gig to see her favourite band play for the first time.

“They’re one of my favourite artists and I’ve wanted to see them for ages. I was so excited, I thought it was a joke when it came on the screen,” Cook said.

The concert, presented by Federation Square, the City of Melbourne and Double J, was advertised as a free gig offering “exclusive” tour merchandise for those who missed out at the AC/DC concert.

Later in the evening, big lines were seen outside the Cherry Bar in the CBD, where Amyl and the Sniffers put $5000 on the bar to make good for the cancellation.

Labour in Vain in Fitzroy was also at capacity. Both bars were among five the band committed to donate bar tabs to.

With Kieran Rooney

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