Picture: Jamie Edwards
While weekend events across the country were disrupted by weather, the sold-out Bloc Festival at the new London Pleasure Gardens was an entirely man-made calamity.
The electronic music event was previously staged at Butlin’s Minehead. Given their planned all-night festival debut in East London ended not with the promised "unforgettable sunrises over the water" but something more like a kettling operation, they should stick with holiday camps.
With security staff unable to cope, the 15,000-capacity festival became over-crowded and was cancelled on the advice of the Met. Bewildered ravers were penned in by metal barriers and shepherded out by police; promised late-night shuttle buses to Liverpool Street only went to Canning Town.
It was by far my most gruelling festival experience. If the atmosphere never quite turned ugly it was because cancellation came as a relief after such chaotic crowd management.
Friday headliner Snoop Dogg didn't perform and the plug was pulled at 12.45am. Orbital were to headline on Saturday but organisers realised their problems were insurmountable and cancelled.
Scroll down to see how one festival goer escaped the crowds...
Royal Victoria Docks has been given a £5 million makeover including a 30-metre dome resembling half a giant golf ball.
However, the layout was flawed: two main stages are adjacent so there was oppressive overcrowding in one corner. Perhaps because of the crowd problems, the far end of the Arena stage tent became a latrine; even women were squatting in the gloom during the turgid set from masked rapper Doom.
Bloc’s website - since replaced with an apology and refund pledge - promised "mind-blowing audio-visual experiences", but in the event ravers paid between £55 and £125 to spend an evening queuing rather than dancing.
As a journalist, I got whisked through to witness a revelatory performance by minimalist composer Steve Reich.
But many festival-goers missed out and complained of two-hour delays to get in and further lengthy queues outside tents hosting the acts. "Worst festival ever," wrote one on Twitter. There were also reports of people climbing over barriers.
Garfield Hackett and Debs Armstrong, co-directors of LPG, said they were "hugely disappointed" and "fully investigating".
"We will be sitting down with them to discuss the events that went on and making sure future events run safely," said a Newham Council spokesman.
The BT River of Music Africa stage will go ahead on 21-22 July.
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One festival goer livened up his night by daring a fellow reveller to abandon ship (naked) into the muddy canal waters below...don't worry he managed to come up smiling.
