A music festival in Vancouver turned into a riot that’s believed to have caused hundreds of┬аthousands of dollars in property damage late Sunday after organizers announced the┬аnight’s headliner wouldn’t be performing because of an illness.
Breakout Fest, a hip-hop music festival held at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) grounds over the weekend, announced rapper Lil Baby was “too sick” to take the stage at the PNE Amphitheatre┬аaround 9:30 p.m. тАФ┬аhalf an hour before the scheduled end of the show.
Videos from the scene after the announcement show┬аpeople tearing down┬аtents, throwing garbage cans and swarming the venue’s beer garden. Others┬аflipped over refrigerators┬аand snapped concession tables.
Police arrested┬аseven people for breach of the peace.
“Tonight … fans turned their disappointment into anger, doing significant damage to the PNE┬аAmphitheatre and parts of Hastings Park,”┬аPNE spokesperson Laura Ballance┬аsaid in an interview.
Riot at the pne and <a href=”https://twitter.com/6ixAdemiks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@6ixAdemiks</a> re tweeted me first so he gets footage <br><br>Best in Vancouver cauze lil baby didnтАЩt show <a href=”https://t.co/EEuEDCkxPJ”>pic.twitter.com/EEuEDCkxPJ</a>
—@vancity2023
Criminal investigation launched
After Lil Baby’s no-show was announced at 9:15, the PNE said in a Monday afternoon statement┬аthat about 4,200 of the 5,200 attendees left┬аwithout incident.
“Approximately 1,000 of the guests turned their disappointment into a violent outburst that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to PNE property inside the Amphitheatre and in Hastings Park,” the statement read.
“It is our understanding that there was additional damage to property outside of Hastings Park, in the community and to local businesses. For this, we are incredibly sorry to our neighbours.”
Hundreds of attendees travelled from across the province to attend the two-day festival, paying up to $350 for a ticket.┬а
A statement from the Vancouver Police Department on Monday said “several hundred people” started fighting and destroying property both inside and outside the venue after learning the┬аheadliner wasn’t coming.
“Though no major injuries have been reported, there are likely thousands of dollars in property damage,” the statement read.
Police have launched a criminal investigation.
WATCH | Aftermath of the riot at the PNE Amphitheatre:
Angry music festival attendees wrecked tents, threw garbage bins and toppled fridges at the PNE Amphitheatre on Sept. 18, 2022, after organizers announced the festival’s headliner, Lil Baby, wouldn’t perform.
Lil Baby, PNE apologize
Fans leaving the venue mentioned cost as a┬аsource of frustration.┬а
“Biggest┬аjoke of my life, spend $200-$300┬аto travel, then all that money for the tickets and then it’s a wash … biggest waste of my money, of my life,” said┬аWill Thompson, who had travelled several hours from B.C.’s┬аKootenays to get to the festival.
“I paid for two days, $260, and probably four of the artists┬аI bought the tickets to see┬аcancelled, and I also got pepper-sprayed and bashed┬аmy knee out with a baton┬атАФ┬аso overall, it was not a good night,” said Joseph Dale, who had travelled from Ladner in Delta, B.C.
Lil Baby apologized to fans on Instagram, saying his body “completely shut down” Sunday after working for months.
Ballance┬аalso offered an apology to residents in the area around the PNE.
“The PNE is incredibly sorry for the action of those guests and the impact this behaviour may have had on our community,” she said.
Breakout Festival has had issues with no-show headliners in the past. In 2018,┬аAtlanta-area rap trio Migos┬аfailed to show up and perform as planned on the final night of the event.┬а
Organizers said they were considering partial refunds for Sunday ticketholders.
