The UK’s massive Download Festival experienced a few bumps in the road this past weekend. Not only was it plagued by some rainy weather, which left the grounds super muddy, an apparent food poisoning epidemic sickened hundreds of fans.
Download Festival took place June 13th-15th at Donington Park, with Queens of the Stone Age, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, Limp Bizkit, The Offspring, and more among the dozens of bands on the three-day lineup.
The site Food Poisoning News reports that as many as 500 people were infected with symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever, with some festivalgoers using buckets as makeshift toilets.
The outbreak wasn’t just limited to the fans, as Sean Smith, the frontman of the band The Raiders, reported via X/Twitter, “Got food poisoning. Been sick ALL night. … I’ve got to go to hospital to be put on an IV apparently.”
According to Leicester Mercury, two food venders at the festival were shut down due to health violations. The BBC spoke with a health official, who said an investigation is underway.
“We worked with the event organizer to investigate two food vendors, both of which were closed by the event organizer over the course of the weekend,” stated health officer Paul Sanders. “We are aware of reports of people feeling unwell and will continue to investigate. Anyone continuing to feel unwell following the Download Festival should contact their GP in the first instance.”
A spokesperson for promoter Live Nation remarked, “Two vendors were closed and removed from the site as they failed to meet the standards of Environment Health and the local authority. Download Festival operates a robust 24-hour welfare operation including staff and welfare tents to support unwell customers throughout the site.”
As mentioned, the festival also experienced a good amount of pouring rain, turning the grounds into a sea of mud. Video footage shared by Pantera and others can be seen below.
We had a great time today at Download! Here’s a glimpse of our performance. Hope you guys had fun in the mud ????????
????: @metaldavemedia #pantera #downloadfestival #castledonington pic.twitter.com/UBZrqluOcP
— Pantera (@Pantera) June 15, 2024
Our first Download mud angel ???? #DLXXI pic.twitter.com/mNVKCeUGuK
— Planet Rock (@PlanetRockRadio) June 16, 2024
The ground at @DownloadFest is literally sludge at this stage! We are all just mud people now! #Download #Download2024 #Download24 #DownloadXXI pic.twitter.com/ryXoWOlHEH
— Fran Foley Winston (@Celticpussycat) June 15, 2024