If you’re lucky enough to be heading to Europe for summer festival season, you might be glad to know a swathe of British festivals are introducing drug testing on site, following a string of drug-related deaths at festivals, including the death of a 17-year-old boy at last year’s Leeds Festival.
At least six festivals will be offering the scheme, with the support of local police, including Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of August. Their line-up boasts Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Major Lazer, and our very own Flume and Jagwar Ma.
Melvin Benn of Festival Republic, who runs Latitude, V Festival, Wireless and other events for Live Nation, said: “It’s taken a long time and it won’t be at every festival, but where we think there is a need to do it we will be doing it.”
The Loop ran the UK’s first drug-testing tent at Secret Garden Party last year, and will run the tents at all six festivals this year, where punters can find out exactly how cut their cocaine/ecstacy/ket/whatever-the-kids-take-these-days is.
Their founder, Fiona Measham from Durham University, hopes pill testing will become common practice in clubs and city centres in future, but for now: she said: “It’s really exciting that police are prioritising health and safety over criminal justice at festivals.”
Stay safe jetsetting pill-poppers.
Source: BBC
Photo: Andrew Benge / Getty
