A Boiler Room event in Seoul was cancelled due to overcrowding and safety concerns.
Last Saturday’s party was shut down three hours earlier than scheduled as headliner Peggy Gou was taking the stage.
Fire services estimate that over 4000 tickets were sold for a venue with a capacity of only 2,000, The Korea Times reports.
Other publications, such as Hindustan Times and Korea JoongAng Daily, have suggested the amount of people in the venue was closer to 6,000. There were no casualties, but at least five attendees experienced breathing difficulties.
다른 분 얼굴 나와 죄송하지만 수용 인원 몇 백 퍼센트 이상으로 티켓 판매한 보일러룸 서울 주최측 때문에 안에 계신분들 질식해서 경찰 119 출동하고 행사는 그대로 취소됨 여긴 그냥 아비규환임 사람들 아직도 나오는 중 pic.twitter.com/epnXmCOeIH
— pourquoi? (@3gn1ledx) July 27, 2024
In a recent interview with Resident Advisor, Soichi Terada who was supposed to play the closing set claimed that he was unable to enter the venue.
In a statement posted to their Instagram Stories, Boiler Room refuted claims of the event being oversold. “Contrary to what has been reported, we sold to the capacity that was instructed by our partner in Seoul,” the statement read.
“At the time the event ended we were under capacity.” Boiler Room suggested that the actual reason for the closure was “crowd-flow issues,” and confirmed that all tickets will be refunded. “We’re reviewing our systems internally to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The party was part of Boiler Room’s world tour. The brand will host events in cities such as London, Stockholm, Ghent, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
