Dozens of people were injured in a stampede at a Ghanaian cultural festival in north London after crowds overwhelmed the venue entrance, sending emergency services rushing to the site.
The incident occurred at Copthall Playing Fields in Barnet, where the annual Ghana Party in the Park festival was being held, according to the Daily Mail. Authorities said attendance exceeded the venue’s capacity, causing severe overcrowding at the entrance that led people to fall on top of one another.
Injuries were described by initial reports as non-life-threatening. Video from the scene showed a large emergency response, with ambulances, rescue vehicles and air ambulances arriving at the festival grounds. Eyewitnesses described rescuers carrying injured visitors out on stretchers.
An 18-year-old attendee described the situation as extremely chaotic and said the event had been very poorly organised. Another visitor said thousands of people had been unable to enter the venue from early in the afternoon, with around 1,000 people remaining gathered outside. That witness said two air ambulance helicopters took part in transporting the injured.
The organisers announced on Saturday evening that they had shut the festival immediately on health and safety grounds. They said the London Ambulance Service and Fire Brigade had responded, and that evacuation and closure was determined to be the safest course of action for those present.
Reports circulating on social media of stabbings and fatalities were firmly denied by both the organisers and the Metropolitan Police. Police said the cancellation was caused solely by excessive crowding at the entrance, which resulted in a number of people sustaining minor injuries, and urged the public to avoid the area.
Ghana Party in the Park has run since 2005 and is considered the largest outdoor event for the Ghanaian community outside Africa, drawing more than 8,000 visitors each year. The festival is dedicated to Ghanaian music, culture, food and fashion.
