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Rabat – L’Boulevard, a Casablanca Music festival, saw its activities interrupted on Friday among reports of overcrowding and riots which led to several injuries among attendees.
Tens of thousands of attendees tried to watch the musical performances at the RUC Stadium in Casablanca, according to eyewitnesses who documented the event on social media.
The gathering of such a large number of people in the stadium’s enclosed space resulted in overcrowding. This resulted in a general state of chaos and injuries among the crowd, some of whom lost consciousness.
Incidents of theft and armed robbery were also reported during the first two hours of the festival, before the events were put on hold.
The attendance levels exceeded organizers’ expectations, as security forces were not able to stay on top of the situation due to the sheer number of attendees.
Fans on social media also commented that anyone was allowed to enter the premises, resulting in the presence of people carrying weapons and some who were inebriated or had violent tendencies.
Other attendees reported feeling afraid for their lives during the unfolding events, and found it difficult to exit the venue due to all the chaos. Some attendees mentioned witnessing cases of stabbings and sexual assault in the crowd.
Video footage shared online shows rappers at the festival carrying on with their performances as fights and riots were flaring up in the crowd.
“Unfortunately there was a lack of control, people were hitting each other with metal sticks and belts,” one Instagram user commented on the festival’s page. “There was no security, there were people who were hit in the head and unable to stand up.”
Others also argued the festival’s free attendance could be a negative strategy, arguing that paid and registered attendance would allow the organizers to manage their crowds better.
L’Boulevard’s team issued an apology on its Instagram page of the festival.
“The L’Boulevard team apologizes for and condemns the vandalism acts, which do not honor the spirit of the festival, or that of the public and the artists,” the statement said.
The festival’s organizers said that they would continue hosting some of the activities in a limited fashion, adding that their “efforts to develop urban arts” will continue despite Friday night’s events.
L’Boulevard saw performances from some of Morocco’s most famous artists in the hip-hop scene, such as El Grande Toto and L’Morphine.
