Download Festival Mosh Pits Trigger 700 Accidental 999 Calls

At the Download Festival in Donington Park, Leicestershire, smartwatches and other wearable devices worn by fans entering mosh pits are mistakenly triggering hundreds of accidental 999 emergency calls by detecting violent movements as collisions. Normally handling around 600 emergency calls on a weekend, Leicestershire Police see this number nearly double during the festival due to these false alarms, placing a heavy burden on call handlers and diverting resources from genuine emergencies. Police have urged festival-goers to switch their wearable devices to airplane mode or disable emergency alerts before entering mosh pits to prevent these accidental calls, and to remain on the line or answer callbacks from emergency services to confirm their safety if a call is made. The Download Festival, expected to attract about 75,000 attendees and featuring headliners like Green Day, Sleep Token, and Korn, has seen similar incidents in the past, highlighting the safety challenges of large-scale metal music events. Authorities emphasize that all 999 calls must be assessed thoroughly, requiring multiple outbound calls to ensure no real threat, which further stresses emergency response capacity. Festival organizers and police continue to collaborate to manage safety and communication during the event.