Paradise City festival warns visitors about dangerous drugs following incidents

Paradise City festival warns visitors about dangerous drugs following incidents
Paradise City 2019. Credit: Paradise City

Dance festival Paradise City in Perk, just outside of Brussels, sent out a notification via its app tonight to warn visitors about dangerous drugs at the festival.

“A few people were brought to the emergency room after drug use, one of whom was taken to hospital,” says organizer Gilles De Decker. “That’s why we want to warn everyone again as a precaution.”

“We have received a number of people who had used too many drugs at the emergency room,” De Decker said. “We want to make people aware that they have to be careful and that they have to protect themselves and each other.”

The report refers to “dangerous drugs being circulated”, which is mainly intended as a warning. There is no drug testing on-site and the organisation is not aware of dangerous ecstasy pills with an increased dose, such as those that were previously found at other festivals.

“We want to make the issue negotiable and communicate openly. By removing it from the taboo sphere, we can protect everyone better,” says De Decker.

“There are incidents every year, for this year we are focusing more on the protection of our festival visitors and we have drawn up an action plan together with the police,” says De Decker.

This means, among other things, that there are police checks on and around the festival site. Drugs are confiscated and whoever is caught must pay a fine through an immediate out-of-court settlement.

Paradise City in Perk, Flemish Brabant, is known for its initiatives to reduce the impact on the environment. It is said to be the greenest festival in Belgium, and one of the greenest festivals in the world. Tomorrow is the last festival day.


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