Two fatalities and four critically ill concertgoers tarnish the first 2 days of the festival on Randall's Island.
- Sep 2, 2013
AceShowbiz - The New York City government canceled the Sunday, September 1 finale of the three-day Electric Zoo Festival on Randall's Island after two people died and four others became critically ill after going to the concert. Authorities recommended the cancellation of the remainder of the event to organizers after both deaths "appear to have involved the drug MDMA (ecstasy or molly)."
Citing "serious health risks" after two concertgoers, 23-year-old Jeffrey Russ of Rochester, New York and 20-yaer-old Olivia Rotondo of Providence, Rhode Island, died and four critically ill patients "have been placed in intensive care at area hospitals, the city said in a statement that "the safest course is to cancel the remaining day of the event." The Electric Zoo concert promoters, Made Event, echoed the NYC Parks Department in their own statement, saying "there is nothing more important to us than our patrons."
The cancellation marks the first major shutdown of an EDM festival over drug concerns. Although efforts are made to strictly and thoroughly search the fans, unfortunately, ecstacy and other prohibited drugs still find their way to amongst the crowd and have actually become part of the culture of some of this kind of music festivals.
Made Event works with the NYPD, the FDNY and several other experts to ensure the safety of festival goers. They have ample medical staff on standby and have set up Red Cross medical aid tents within the concert area in case of any medical emergencies that might come up.
The likes of Avicii, Alessi, Benny Benassi and Baauer performed on the first day of the festival while Tiesto, David Guetta, Bassnectar and A-Trak played Saturday. Steve Aoki, Diplo, Sebastian Ingrosso, Zedd, Armin van Buuren and Krewella were supposed to perform on the final day.
