DUBAI // The organisers of last weekend's international music festival at Atlantis, The Palm are to reduce the number of guests, improve facilities, and try to remove traffic bottlenecks at their next event, following complaints about poor crowd management.
Music fans who had come to hear live bands at the monthly Sandance on the Nasimi Beach last Friday complained about overcrowding, unruly behaviour, safety issues, a lack of toilet facilities and traffic jams.
"There was a remarkable difference from the last time," said Julie Borland, who attended the 12-hour event, which began at 2pm Friday.
"It was much busier and there were huge queues at the ladies' toilet. There was such overcrowding and panic," she said, adding that there was plenty of "pushing and crushing" at the weekend music festival.
Nearly 10,000 guests were believed to have attended the event. The line-up included Snow Patrol, Calvin Harris, DJ Erick Morillo and the M People.
"It appeared that they had sold too many tickets. I have never experienced this at Sandance. People were getting very upset and it was distressing. There were security guards, but they were not helping the situation," said Ms Borland, who was stuck in traffic for nearly an hour while leaving the event.
Another fan said there was little crowd control. "People were wasted and bumping into guests a lot," said Dana El-kalache, an analyst. "It was very uncomfortable. There were queues all night outside the toilets."
Ms El-kalache said the presence of numerous shisha pipes contributed to the lack of safety.
"There were shishas everywhere," she said. "They could have broken amid all the pushing and there would have been glass pieces. Someone should come around and take it away before it gets crowded."
After receiving feedback from those who attended, organisers said they were making improvements for the next music festival, scheduled for next month.
"Yes, for the next Sandance on Friday April 6, we will be reducing our capacity to enhance the guest experience," said Heiko Schreiner, senior vice president, Resort Operations at Atlantis, The Palm.
"We will also be doubling the total amount of toilet facilities at the venue. Furthermore, we will be adding a second large island bar, we will have a devoted shisha area after sunset, and will be positioning all tables on the raised and floating platforms."
Mr Schreiner said organisers were also working with Nakheel and the Roads and Transport Authority to "better facilitate transportation needs".
The organisers would not reveal how many tickets had been sold for Friday's event, but said the new, reduced capacity would be comparable to the number of guests who attended last November's Sandance with The Script.
Some fans who attended Friday's concert alleged that people were hurt.
"The scariest crowd experience ever," a guest wrote on Facebook. "People (were) falling down and getting stepped on. When the guy next to me had his nose broken, we decided to leave."
Another person posted on the social networking site that an unopened beer had been thrown at a girl's head at his table.
pkannan@thenational.ae
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Number of tracks: 10
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Elvis
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Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
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Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
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Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
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