People were helped out of the Eurovision welcome party in Liverpool city centre this evening amid overcrowding and organisation issues.
The National Lottery's Big Eurovision Welcome is being held at St George's Plateau this evening to kick off the week of Eurovision in the city, with performances from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Lightning Seeds and Atomic Kitten among others.
But as thousands poured into the area in front of St George's Hall this evening some concerns were raised about the sheer volume of people in the space provided and how things were being managed by security.
Some people were seen being carried over barriers to get out of the concert area after becoming distressed. An announcer on stage said the concert would not be able to begin until people had spread out and stated the organisers did not expect the event to be as busy as it is. The organisers later clarified that numbers were within those expected as it was a ticketed event.
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On twitter, concert-goer Jess said: "Eurovision National Lottery sort yourselves out! major health and safety issue going on. ignored several times then puts a man on the stage telling people to come even closer." She said BBC camera operators had done more to help the situation than the security on site.
Another described the crowd control at the gig as 'atrocious.'
M Farrell was struggling to get into the gig from the London Road area. They said: "Anyone know what's happening at the London Road gate for the Eurovision concert. Busy stuck in a crowd that is about 800 people deep outside the entrance."
Phil Symo said he had walked out of the concern because of the issues. He added: "I hope they make a better effort with Eurovision because the organisation for this was an absolute s*** show. All the crowds on one side. Dangerous."
Another concert-goer told the ECHO she had left the event after suffering with a panic attack. She added: "It's shockingly organised, you can't get from one side to the other."
ECHO reporters at the event described seeing people looking distressed and concerned at the overcrowding. They have seen people having to be helped out of the event space. One person at the concert said they had seen around 40 people being helped over the barriers.
Presenter Joel Dommett was then heard encouraging people in the crowd to spread out.
The event is now underway and organisers have been approached for a response.
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: “Stewards assisted a few people who were uncomfortable in the crowd. The event started on time and is getting a great reception from the audience.”
"We continue to monitor the situation throughout the show to make sure people are comfortable."
