London Ghana festival cut short after crush at Barnet park entrance
A London music festival was shut down early on Saturday after a crush at the entrance left more than 20 people needing medical help and
A London music festival was shut down early on Saturday after a crush at the entrance left more than 20 people needing medical help and three people taken to hospital. The incident at Ghana Party in the Park in Barnet turned a summer event into an emergency response. Fast.
The event at Copthall Playing Fields ended after what organisers and police described as an overcrowding problem. A small fire near the entrance forced gates to close temporarily, and police said the crush happened when crowds built up and surged as the gates reopened.
Fire near the entrance
Police said they were alerted shortly after 18:00 BST on 1 August to reports of crushing at the entrance to the event. The Metropolitan Police said a small fire near the gates had prompted a temporary closure. When access resumed, people pushed forward. That was enough.
Three attendees were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while over 20 people needed assistance from medics. Firefighters, the ambulance service and an air ambulance attended the scene as event staff and safety teams worked to control the situation.
Festival stopped on safety grounds
Organisers, who also refer to the event as Shattafest UK, said they paused the festival while the fire and safety teams dealt with the incident at the entrance. They later ended the day on health and safety grounds after what they called a major incident. Their statement said it had been “one of the most difficult” days in the festival’s history and described the events as deeply upsetting.
The organisers said normal operations had resumed once the affected area was declared safe, before the later crowd surge at the entrance caused injuries. They said the decision to close was agreed after the incident escalated.
What the London incident shows
The episode will sharpen attention on crowd management at large outdoor events, especially where entry points can quickly become bottlenecks. Temporary closures, even for a small fire, can create pressure that builds in seconds. Then it spills over.
For festivalgoers, the outcome was immediate: an early end to the party, an emergency response on site and hospital treatment for three people. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene shortly after 18:00 BST. The festival did not continue into the night.
