Over 320,000 attendees were expected to attend Medusa Festival in Valencia, Spain this weekend. Unfortunately, due to extreme weather conditions, festival organizers decided it was best to ultimately cancel the event on Sunday morning.
Following an “unexpectedly violent gust of wind,” a portion of a festival stage collapsed around 4 am on Sunday, injuring 40 people, seriously harming three people, and killing one person, according to reports from Valencia’s regional authorities. At the time of the incident, there were around 50,000 in attendance.
At that point, organizers said they immediately ordered the grounds to be cleared for the safety of the artists and remaining festival goers.
As reported by Reuters, DJ Miguel Serna was performing at the time of the collapse. “It was a tense few minutes, I’ve never experienced anything like it before,” Serna said in an Instagram story. “The tragedy happened just at the end of my session on the main stage, just below it, which was the most affected (area). It was a few moments of horror, I am still in shock.”
Medusa Fest organizers lamented the cancellation of the festival and its remaining events and expressed their sentiments in a statement issued on their official social media accounts:
“We remain devastated. Broken inside. So much that almost no words can be spoken. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each and every one of those affected, directly and indirectly, by the unfortunate, unexpected and unavoidable accident that has occurred tonight due to the extreme and unpredictable inclement weather during the celebration of the Medusa Festival.
Our public is important to us. They have placed their trust in us and have been the fundamental pillar for us to continue here today. The safety of those attending our event has always been an absolute priority for us. Also workers and artists. We believe that all of you who know us know that the main thing is to protect you all at each of our events.
For this reason, and because that continues to be our maxim, the Medusa Festival organization has made the decision to definitively cancel our festival. The adverse and unexpected weather conditions that are expected to continue happening throughout the day oblige us morally and by responsibility to put an end to our 2022 edition. Thank you.”
