LooseFest festivalgoers have been sharing their frustration on the opening day of event after being met with delays, queues and technical errors.
Around 60,000 music fans were expected to descend on Newcastle's Town Moor to attend the North East's 'biggest music festival' over the course of the weekend. But some of those who attended its opening day said they were met with long queues.
It was also reported that there was a 90-minute delay to the event which was scheduled to begin at 12pm. LooseFest organisers have apologised since for a "small, but important technical issue that resulted in a delay to the start time."
Acts such as Mabel, Clean Bandit and headliners The Black Eyed Peas feature on LooseFest's line-up as the festival makes its debut in the city. Thousands of people attended the opening day of the festival.
Former Geordie Shore star and DJ Joel Corry was also due to play at 1pm on Saturday but later said he was unable to do his set due to "circumstances outside of my control".
He posted on Twitter: "Hey guys I'm so gutted I was unable to play @LooseFest Newcastle today. I was on site & ready to start my set at 1PM.
"Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control the venue was unable to open in time for my set. I look forward to being back in the Toon soon - Joel".
Fans took to Corry's post to comment about delays to get into the festival, with one person claiming to have been queuing for almost two-and-a-half-hours. They replied: "Well I'm pleased to hear you unfortunately couldn't do your set, my daughter had been queuing since 11.30am and didn't get in until nearly 2pm and she was gutted that she wasn't going to see you. Come back to Newcastle soon."
Another said: "Queuing early to see you and I'm not surprised you weren't able to play. No one was bloody in the festival in time anyway!"
Despite festivalgoers raising issues about the event on its opening day, others shared their enjoyment. One person said: "Technical issues aside, LooseFest was a vibe".
Brian Austin, a director of LooseFest said, "There was a small, but important technical issue that resulted in a delay to the start time, which both I and the whole LooseFest team would like to apologise for. Once LooseFest was underway, it was everything and more, with an unreal atmosphere, with incredible feedback from the artists including the Black Eyed Peas who were feeling the love from the NE!"
The event continues on Sunday with performances from 38 international performers including Mabel, Jonas Blue, Jamie Jones, AJ Tracey, Wilkinson, Kings if the Rollers on four all-weather stages.
Dean Saunders, a director of LooseFest, said: "The festival has been everything we have ever dreamed of, and so much work has gone in behind the scenes day and night to try make this an amazing as possible for everyone. With many more world acts performing again today we can't wait to see loads of people enjoying themselves again".
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