Obtain Competition attendees urged to take off smartwatches to stop moshpits from triggering emergency alerts

Attendees at Obtain Competition have been urged to take away their smartphones to stop moshpits from triggering emergency alerts. 

The metallic pageant is being held this weekend at Donington Park in Leicestershire, with Inexperienced Day, Sleep Token and KoRn all taking part in headline units on the primary stage. 

Native police, nevertheless, have requested all festival-goers to think about turning their smartwatches and different units to airplane mode or to disable their emergency alerts to keep away from an overload of 999 alerts being despatched throughout moshpits. 

Leicestershire police wrote this week that “in earlier years, on account of wearable tech points, we noticed an increase of almost 700 further 999 calls in a weekend”. 

“All these calls needed to be assessed…to make sure there isn't any menace, threat or hurt, taking our contact handlers away from answering true emergency calls.” 

Police defined that the bodily depth of crowds at Obtain brought on units to “assume” that there had been “a collision” and the crash detection function can ship an alert to emergency companies consequently. If a tool does make an unintentional 999 name, followers are requested to remain on the road or reply callbacks to “tell us you might be secure”. 

In addition to the headliners, Weezer, Intercourse Pistols that includes Frank Carter, Jimmy Eat World, Poppy, Detest, Jerry Cantrell, McFly, Inside Temptation, Eagles Of Dying Metallic, The Darkness, Spiritbox, Meshuggah, Metal Panther, Cradle Of Filth and Alien Ant Farm are all additionally on this 12 months’s invoice. 

Just lately, the pageant has come beneath hearth over their coverage that prohibiting trans girls from utilizing girls’s bogs, and trans males from utilizing males’s amenities. 

NOAHFINNCE, who got here out as a trans man in 2017, and Pinkshift hit out towards the pageant, stating that it “put[s] trans individuals at risk”. Witch Fever additionally referred to as the coverage “an entire fuckin’ tragedy”. 

The coverage outlined by Obtain organisers seems to narrate to the controversial UK Supreme Court docket ruling on April 16, through which judges unanimously dominated that the authorized definition of a girl is predicated on organic intercourse beneath the Equality Act. 

What a option to kick off the weekend 🚀 Here is a have a look at what went down on Friday at #DLXXII pic.twitter.com/RKgOo57iYu

— Obtain Competition (@DownloadFest) June 14, 2025

In response, Obtain confirmed to NME in an announcement that it might present gender-neutral amenities, including: “On the coronary heart of Obtain is acceptance – we stand with all members of our neighborhood and wish everybody to really feel secure, supported and welcome on the pageant. 

“We wish to reassure all of our prospects that at Obtain, nearly all of bathrooms can be gender impartial and obtainable to all. There will even be single intercourse bathrooms offered. Obtain Competition has at all times been and stays for everybody.” 

“We sincerely apologise {that a} earlier communication on this was not clear. We're trying ahead to seeing you at Obtain this 12 months.” 

Witch Fever and Zand later responded by arguing the assertion didn’t go far sufficient by not establishing whether or not EHRC pointers would nonetheless be adopted for single-sex amenities. Though it later emerged from others who had been working with the pageant to rectify the problem that the bathrooms weren’t going to be policed, Obtain was criticised for not making this clearer. 

Shortly after Obtain’s assertion, Lush additionally terminated their partnership with the pageant. 

We spoke to pageant organiser Andy Copping final November in regards to the mindset of Obtain organisers going into 2025, and outlined the ways in which the occasion needs to maintain evolving. 

“We’ve at all times made a aware determination to make Obtain accessible to the final populace,” he stated. “That includes pushing the boundaries musically and giving the newer acts an opportunity. Due to that, we’ve seen the followers coming by getting youthful too, 12 months on 12 months. There’ll at all times be a sure expectation of what individuals wish to see at Obtain, so it’s about navigating that and delivering the very best we are able to.”