Slovak folk music festival cancelled after tent collapses in storm

Pohoda, a popular music festival held at Trenčín airport since Thursday evening, was interrupted prematurely on Friday night after strong winds and a violent storm caused one of the large tents to collapse on festival-goers.

“Based on the information available, the inspection of all structures could not be completed within 24 hours, making it impossible to continue the festival program,” the festival said on social media.

“After carefully considering the time needed to inspect the safety of the festival structures, we have decided that we must terminate Pohoda 2024,” the organizers added.

The festival, which featured performances by British artists including Arlo Parks, Skepta and James Blake on Thursday, was originally scheduled to end on Saturday, July 13. Due to the weather, concerts by Morcheeba and Royal Blood, which were scheduled for Friday night, ultimately did not take place.

Organizers had initially announced the festival was being suspended shortly after 8 p.m. Friday due to approaching thunderstorms. The decision to end the festival was made four hours later.

At least 12 people were injured after the collapse of the tent in Slovenská sporiteľňa, eight of whom were taken to hospitals in Trenčín and Považská Bystrica with minor head and arm injuries.

At the time of the collapse, dozens of people were estimated to be inside the tent. Before the collapse, people waiting for the concert to begin were warned not to stand near the tent poles due to approaching storms and were told that the program would be interrupted. Many, however, considered the tent a safe place and remained inside during the storm.

The strong winds also damaged the Aktuality news site tent, festival tents, some stages, food and drink stands, portable toilets, and caused a prolonged power outage in the festival area.

Many festival-goers decided to leave the festival immediately after the storm, although no official evacuation was declared, which caused traffic jams around the airport. Bus services between the airport and Trenčín train station were reportedly increased, and the city of Trenčín opened a gym for festival-goers who had nowhere to sleep.

Police announced Friday evening that they had opened a criminal investigation into the collapsed tent.

In 2009, a violent storm and strong winds also destroyed a tent in Pohoda. The incident claimed the lives of two festival-goers and injured dozens more. It took a judge nearly a decade to determine who was responsible for the tragedy.