Southall Park event draws large crowds and leads to chaos and stampede

A music event in Southall Park did not go as planned due to a stampede that resulted in huge crowds gathering to see musician Jazzy B perform on stage at a family event. The Norwood Green Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha released a statement criticising people for drinking and urinating in public while The Famous Punjabi Mela was taking place.

The event, which was held on 1 May, allowed entry to only those who paid a £10 fee at the gate. However, the huge crowd quickly went out of control outside the gate and rammed into the venue. The crowd included parents with young children in pushchairs, wanting to attend the traditional fair celebrating North Indian culture.

The Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara said, “We are shocked by the scenes in Norwood Green this evening. Alcohol fuelled violence, public urinating, smoking on Gurdwara-owned property. The event was not organised by the Gurdwara. It was held on fields owned by Ealing Council. We had lodged our objections for exactly these reasons. The Norwood Hall playing fields are not a music venue, and must never be used for such an event. Any gurdwara members attending were there in their own personal capacity.”

Many flyers were put up at the event requesting the attendees to not drink alcohol and instructing food vendors to strictly not sell any alcohol. However, people still managed to get drunk and it has been alleged that they likely brought their own drinks to the event.