Concert-goers have slammed the Emirates Old Trafford after poor crowd control, security checks, and “inadequate” left them feeling “wholly unsafe” at the venue.
The cricket ground, which is regularly used to host gigs, has been inundated with negative TripAdvisor reviews following the Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert in June. Attendees dubbed overcrowding and poor organisation as a “disaster waiting to happen”.
Fans say they were unable to access seated areas because the venue was too crowded, there was ‘zero’ accessibility provision, flares were set off in the crowd, and bag searches were unclear and inconsistent, leaving them feeling concerned about their safety.
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“Crowd control was non-existent. People were crammed in and this caused panic. People were getting taken off their feet and swept with the crowd,” one attendee told the Manchester Evening News .
She described her fear as fireworks and flares were set off behind her, causing “panic” in the crowd.
“This is totally unacceptable especially in light of incidents in Manchester,” she said. “It was at this point I realised if something was to happen I would have no chance of getting out.”
Emirates Old Trafford say guest safety will “always be at the heart” of events hosted at the venue.
One concert-goer told the M.E.N he booked seated tickets for himself and his partner, who is five months pregnant. But when the pair entered the ground, they found themselves unable to get to their seats, with crowds at “a complete standstill”.
He described the experience as “daunting,” and said security staff told them they would just have to wait until the gig started and hope the crowd died down.
“I’ve been to gigs for years, a long, long time and I’ve never seen anything like what I saw that night. That ground is not built for that number of people,” he said.
“It was dangerous. We all know what happened outside Manchester Arena a couple of years ago - if something similar were to have happened, or even a scare, there would have been nowhere for all those people to go at once. It was chaos.”
Since the concert, the venue has been left a number of damning TripAdvisor reviews. Attendees called the site “shocking” and said they would leave a minus rating if they could.
“Dangerous unsafe venue,” one review reads. “A Hillsborough disaster in the making.
"Amazed a venue in 2022 could be so dangerous. Massively oversold for the size. From the second you clear security it was absolute chaos and people trapped with nowhere to move around.
“Completely trapped and more and more fans pouring in behind. We witnessed numerous fans come into medical trouble and the untrained staff just waved them away as if they were drunk.
"Disabled and families had no way of getting to the seating area. Nowhere near enough exits. And then stopping people exiting after the show!
"If an incident were to have happened this would have been a disaster. Manchester of all places should know what could happen at these events and safety should always always outweigh profit! I hope this gets looked into before something serious happens.”
Another reviewer slammed the ground, writing they had never felt so unsafe at a gig or festival before.
“Absolutely disgusting, please don't go if you value your safety,” they wrote.
A spokesperson for Emirates Old Trafford said: “All events at Emirates Old Trafford are reviewed continuously to improve the guest experience by working alongside all stakeholders that are involved. Our guest safety will always be at the heart of the events we host at Emirates Old Trafford.”
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