90s Fest in Sheffield reportedly turned into a ‘shambles’ for attendees last weekend, with overcrowding and long queues at the bar and toilets.
The three-day festival has already put tickets on sale for 2027, but festivalgoers at the retro weekend this year have said they will not be back.
Held at the Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield, the nostalgic acts on stage included 2 Unlimited, Chicane, Andy Whitby, Judge Jules and Rozalla.
But a couple who attended the festival for the fifth time and ‘always look forward to it’ have told BBC News that they faced overcrowding, despite paying for VIP tickets.
Michael Osbourne and his wife Yvette said they paid £115 for the three-day event, but they discovered those who had not paid for the VIP tier could access all of the site regardless.
Osbourne said they ‘literally couldn’t get into’ the toilets in their Super VIP area, where hundreds were ‘crammed in’.
They have also claimed there were six queues for the bar, with around 50 people waiting in each.
Osbourne went on to tell the publication that while Saturday was a ‘shambles’, the organisers had improved the festival set-up on the Sunday. Yet he has said they will not be back for 2027.
A pair of friends, Amy Atherton and Mary Rawlinson, also told the publication they will not be back after this year.
Having paid for VIP tickets, as wheelchair users, they said they were restricted to one spot for six hours to watch the performances, because there was no disabled platform on the site.
Savannah Wright, from Sheffield, who also attended, said some were forced to wait for an hour and a half in the queue for the toilets.
A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council told the BBC: ‘Organisers have welcomed constructive feedback to help support the continued development and improvement of future events.’
Councillor Mark Rusling, chair of the environmental services and regulation policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said: ‘We would like to assure attendees that all future events in the city will continue to be monitored to make sure standards are high.
‘The council met with the festival organisers and at no stage was the event considered to present a risk to public safety.’
Metro contacted the organisers of 90s Fest for comment.