First at L’Orangerie and then at the Mainstage, Tomorrowland has faced, at least, two tear gas attacks on its first weekend. More have been reported but no footages are available a the moment.
With its 200.000 attendances per weekend, Tomorrowland is one of, if not the most important music festival in the globe. The organization to set up and direct such an incredible production is massive but, sometimes problems happen.
Tear gas/pepper spray has been reported to be used during the first day of the festival at l’Orangerie stage. The episode, happened, during Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano performance, was also caught on the set upload. The first reaction of the crowd was at around 59:13 when the guy on the left started coughing. Around 10 seconds later, from a wider shot, you can see multiple people reacting to it and trying to going out the stage. At around 59:31 a guy in a black t-shirt starts running outside pushing people apart getting everyone’s attention. At 59:49 you can see Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano trying to figure out what’s going on.
The second episode of tear gas was reported yesterday on the mainstage. On the footage below you can see people running away from the area.
[brid video=”439498″ player=”17601″ title=”Tomorrowland tear gas”]
The main purpose of these attacks is to stole goods like smartphones and wallets thanks to the confusion.
The best practice in this type of situations is to stay calm, get rid of your clothes as they may continue to irritate you. Clean your hands and use water to clean your eye if irritated. Avoid tap water and don’t rub your eyes or touch them if you’re hands aren’t completely clean. Blink repeatedly as your eye drops will help to clean the eyes.
Tear gas and pepper spray are a huge problem for festivals lately. The attacks have increased in the last year. Ultra Europe, last week, suffered from the same attack too.
If you see something suspicious in these situations, always get in touch with the security staff or law enforcement.
