Revellers heading to Marlay Park in June for its Summer series of concerts which includes Longitude Festival have been urged to plan ahead in a warning from organisers.
Almost a quarter of a million people will descend on the venue throughout the week of performances with music fans in for a "real treat". Each of the seven gigs will have a capacity of around 40,000 fans in the crowd.
It all kicks off with Arctic Monkeys on June 20 followed by two Dermot Kennedy dates on June 23 and 24. The Weeknd will play on June 28, then Def Leppard and Motley Crue on July 4.
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Promoters MCD are now warning attendees to leave at least two hours to get to the venue. It's come after last year's issues with leaving the venue with many taking to social media to complain.
Therese Langan of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said complaints to the hotline didn't compare to what appeared on social media. She said: "We didn’t get a huge amount of complaints on our own hotline and those views are the minority, not the majority.”
The council confirmed the car park has been extended and the traffic system has been changed. Public transport is also available to use.
Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn added: "We spent a lot of time talking to local residents in order to mitigate the impact. If you have 40,000 people coming into the area, obviously that impact is there so we work really hard to mitigate it.
“We get a lot of volunteers. It’s a great way for community organisations. We’ve got GAA clubs up and down the country doing festival work in order to raise money for their associations."
People will not be permitted to bring their own alcohol into the venue and all bags cannot be bigger than an A4 size. Ticket-holders are advised to download their tickets in advance and to check the weather forecast.
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“Download the ticket before you get to the park. Make sure it is on your phone. There is guarantee of any network or Wi-Fi service at the gate,” Melvin said. There will be a Park and Ride shuttle service from Dundrum Town Centre and Custom House Quay. Book in advance is advised.
The promoters also revealed they have an events app, which goes live this weekend, called evntz.ie. “That will give everyone the opportunity to download every single thing you need.”
The app has been a “great success” in the UK at their concerts, said Melvin. The press conference heard how Garda checks will also be on route and punters are advised to allow themselves an extra two hours travel time to and from the event.
Superintendent Tom Gormley of An Garda Síochána said that while Garda resources will be stretched over the week. “Building on previous feedback, we’re sure that we will police this event effectively and everyone that comes will enjoy themselves.
“We are very aware of the effects these events have on the local community. We want to stress and reinforce that what they want, they will be facilitated in any way that we can facilitate them. “ He asked music goers to keep an eye on social media for transport updates.
“It will be very well documented. There will be a big policing operation in place, which will impact our policing commitments around the rest of the district, but I just want to ensure that we will have enough numbers here to ensure that everyone arrives safely and gets home safely.”
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But Melvin said music fans will be in for a treat. He added: “Seven nights…. It's pretty fantastic. The first concert here was in 2001. It definitely doesn’t seem very long ago.
“Arctic Monkeys is a treat beyond belief. They headlined Leeds Festival, and the show was just spectacular. Dermot Kennedy… two nights. He headlined Electric Picnic last year to an adorned crowd. It’s going to be a great two nights.
“The Weeknd playing… coming into Marlay park especially to Ireland. I’m really looking forward to that. Longitude just two nights to accommodate all the other concerts. July 4 Independence Day, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe will make a great end to the season.”
But a drug testing initiative that featured at Electric Picnic last year will not be set up in Marlay Park this year. Brought in under the HSE’s Safer Nightlife Programme, it involves the voluntary use of surrender bins for illegal substances. Situated in the event’s medical tent, the illegal drugs can then be tested off-site with the necessary warnings then issued.
Melvin said: “Principally, it was from seizures made and that gave the testers and therefore the medics a little bit of preparation in terms of what might be around. It gives us the opportunity to talk and decide whether we need to put a message up on screen to highlight particular issues with drugs. It’s a HSE initiative – it's obviously not my initiative.
“But we would very much support it and very much work in partnership with the HSE. It isn’t scheduled for here (Marlay) but it’s the HSE that takes that decision. They choose the shows they are going to be at. I just work alongside them, I don’t make the decisions or the request. I imagine it’s just the staffing resource, it’s an expensive thing to undertake.”
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