Armed gardai will be on site at Electric Picnic this weekend it has been revealed.
In a reflection of what has happened around the world in recent months where concerts and festivals have been targeted by terrorists, Electric Picnic organisers are taking no chances this year and say they have ramped up security.
Speaking to Sandra Mallon of the Irish Mirror, organiser Melvin Benn said extra measures are being put in place to ensure the safety and security of attendees.
He said: “Yeah, there are significant extra safety measures.
“We’ve been working really closely with the gardai about that, holding tabletop exercises and really spending a lot of time with all the different agencies – talking through likely scenarios, potential scenarios.
“Of course we’ve changed our security plan, I mean the whole of Europe has changed their security plan in every aspect of everything we do. We’re not alone in that.
“I want to pay significant praise to the gardai. They’ve been absolutely thorough in what they’ve been asking us to do and working with them.
“Of course we’re not revealing all the changes but the changes are definitely there.”
“The gardai will have an armed gardai presence here, there is no doubt about that.”
But Benn says that he believes festival goers will not notice the heightened security.
He added: “I don’t think people will notice the changes much.
“The intention is to allow people to come and still enjoy themselves because it’s about what we’re doing away from them behind the scenes.”
The news comes after Benn informed media at the site yesterday morning that Electric Picnic organisers have agreed a deal with the Cosby to continue until 2027.
The news comes as a massive boost to the wider Laois area and further cements Stradbally’s association with the Electric Picnic which it has hosted since 2004.
Over 60,000 concert-goers will descend on the ‘Little Town’ this weekend which has been a hive activity for the past couple of weeks.
SEE ALSO – Electric Picnic signs deal for another ten years in Stradbally
