The UK's massive Download Festival experienced a few bumps in the road this past weekend. Not only was it plagued by rain, which left the field super muddy, but an apparent food poisoning epidemic sickened hundreds of fans.
Download Festival took place June 13-15 in Donington Park, with Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, Limp Bizkit, The Offspring and more among the dozens of bands on the three-day lineup .
The place Food poisoning news reports that up to 500 people were infected with symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever, and that some festival-goers used buckets as makeshift toilets.
The outbreak wasn't just limited to fans, as Sean Smith, the frontman of the band The Raiders, reported via X/Twitter, “I had food poisoning. I've been sick ALL night. … Apparently I have to go to the hospital to get an IV.”
According Leicester Mercury, two food vendors at the festival were closed due to health violations. He bbc He spoke with a health official, who said an investigation is underway.
“We worked with the event organizer to investigate two food vendors, both of which were closed by the event organizer over the weekend,” said health official Paul Sanders. “We are aware of reports of people feeling unwell and will continue to investigate. “Anyone who continues to feel unwell after Download Festival should contact their GP in the first instance.”
A spokesperson for promoter Live Nation said: “Two vendors were closed and removed from the site because they did not meet Environmental Health and local authority standards. “Download Festival operates a robust 24-hour wellbeing operation which includes staff and wellbeing tents to support sick customers across the site.”
As mentioned, the festival also experienced its fair share of torrential rain, turning the ground into a sea of mud. Video footage shared by Pantera and others can be seen below.
We had a great time today at Download! Here's a glimpse of our performance. I hope you had fun in the mud 🤘🏻
📹: @metaldavemedia #panther #festivaldownload #doningtoncastle pic.twitter.com/UBZrqluOcP
-Pantera (@Pantera) June 15, 2024
Our first clay angel download 😇 #DLXXI pic.twitter.com/mNVKCeUGuK
– Planet Rock (@PlanetRockRadio) June 16, 2024
the ground in @DownloadFest It's literally mud at this stage! Now we are all mud people! #Discharge #Download2024 #Download24 #DownloadXXI pic.twitter.com/ryXoWOlHEH
-Fran Foley Winston (@Celticpussycat) June 15, 2024
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