Pohoda festival cancelled after disaster leaves 29 injured

The Slovak Spectator newspaper reported the incident, claiming that the tent collapsed due to strong winds and a violent storm, destroying the integrity of the structure. As a result, the Slovenskej sporitel’ne Arena collapsed while dozens of festival-goers were still inside, and many people were injured.

The festival’s chief physician, Jaroslav Vidan, confirmed the number of injured at 29. He also described 28 of those injuries as “minor”. He said: “Twenty-eight injuries were minor, mostly lacerations, and one injury was of moderate severity, involving a hip fracture.” In a public statement, he confirmed that all injured people had been taken to hospital to be properly examined.

The cancellation of the festival was confirmed on July 12 at noon. The organizers took to social media and wrote: “Based on the available information, the inspection of all structures could not be completed within 24 hours, which makes it impossible to continue the festival program.” They added: “After carefully considering the time needed to inspect the safety of the festival structures, we have decided to terminate Pohoda 2024.”

There were still a number of artists scheduled to perform at the festival, including Nia Archives, Black Pumas, LA Priest, Mount Kimbie and Ezra Collective, leaving fans of those artists sorely disappointed.

Other festival appearances had to be cancelled before the event was officially cancelled. Royal Blood and Morcheeba had to postpone their concerts due to safety concerns, with the festival being suspended at 8pm before the decision was made to shut down completely. Festival-goers were also asked to stay away from tent poles due to the constant threat of lightning; however, many people began seeking shelter in tents to protect themselves from the storm.

The tent’s sponsors, Slonská sporitel’ňa, chose to fund additional buses to transport participants off-site and to safety. Many artists also agreed to forgo their expected remuneration to help the organizers get back on their feet after the event.

Slovak police have also officially confirmed that they will launch a criminal investigation into the tent collapse to determine whether the incident was unavoidable or the result of someone’s negligence.

This is a developing story; further updates on the ongoing investigation will follow.

Related topics