Dozens of people have been helped out of crowds in Liverpool city centre this evening after throngs gathered for a Eurovision welcome party.
Thousands have descended on St George's Plateau in the heart of the city on Sunday (May 7) to celebrate National Lottery's Big Eurovision Welcome. The event is set to see performances from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Lightning Seeds and Atomic Kitten among others.
But a number of fans were pulled from the crowd after concerns were raised about the sheer volume of people in the space provided. Organisers did not expect the event to be as busy as it was, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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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."
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