Raglan Soundsplash festival, thousands queue for six hours without water

Parents of teenagers waiting six hours to get into a music festival in searing heat without water or shade are concerned organisers “have not learned their lesson” after similar trouble two years ago.

Raglan’s Soundsplash festival has been described as “a shambles” as festivalgoers, forced to wait for limited shuttle buses to the venue, suffer heatstroke-like symptoms.

One concerned parent told the Herald her daughter was in high spirits when leaving for the festival but had since become “despondent” as she waited in 25C heat.

Parents and attendees claim security guards have yelled profanities at the teenagers in an effort to control what parents have called “faint and panicked” children.

The Raglan Airfield had been set up as a site to drop off patrons at the festival, to get their entry wristbands and have their bags searched for alcohol and harmful substances.

Festivalgoers were made to tip out their water bottles upon arrival.

The mother claimed her daughter and the thousands of other young teenagers have not been provided water in the meantime.

Teens wait to board buses at Raglan airfield for Soundsplash. Photo / Yasmin Robertson

“There’s no shelter provided and no water, they could have put a water station up there. These are not hard things to do,” she said.

‘It’s not fair on them. It’s a long day for kids that are only 16 and have been up since 4am.”

Excited teens left for the festival in the early hours of this morning to get into the festival early but myriad issues have left some waiting up to six hours.

Festivalgoer Yasmin Robertson told the Herald people were trying to book Uber rides home as they deemed it not worth waiting any longer.

“I paid hundreds of dollars to basically sit here in the hot sun,” Robertson said.

“We’ve got towels on our heads [trying to get shade], we have no water and everyone’s unhappy.”

Robertson said each shuttle bus could only carry about 70 people waiting in the “cage-like” fenced area.

“They took all our water off us and they’ve been handing out one bottle [for us to share] between like millions of us here.

“No one’s helping. One security guard is yelling at us saying we’ll be last on the bus because we’ve stood up [amid] the rush to get on.”

A parent claimed their teen had been yelled at to “sit down and shut the f*** up”.

Another parent said her daughter’s bags had been thrown off the bus as security told them another group was going ahead of them.

“They’re just kids, they’re only teenagers,” the distressed mother said.

One parent told the Herald one of the shuttle buses broke down leaving only two running.

Parents claimed the crowd of thousands was pushing its way onto the limited services.

“When the odd shuttle does arrive,” one parent said, “a massive rush and crush of kids try to race onboard.”

Some parents were also unable to contact their children as their phones had started to run out of charge while they waited.

“My daughter is with a group of five others, I know the other parents and everyone’s tearing their hair out,” one said.

“Being up in Auckland we feel pretty helpless, no one’s getting back to us. It’s disappointing, especially considering the same thing happened two years ago.”

Organisers said on the festival’s website their “core values are about manaakitanga (kindness, respect, caring) and tautoko (support).”

Soundsplash festival organisers apologised for the long wait and blamed the delays on bus drivers’ mandatory work breaks.

“We did have entry congestion in the mid-morning at a time when the crowd grew quickly and it coincided with [those] breaks” a spokesperson said.

“I can confirm that water has been available all day,” the spokesperson said.

“Our event communications encourage all attendees to bring sun protection and appropriate clothing for an outdoor festival.”

They confirmed one bus had broken down and couldn’t be replaced at short notice.

The spokesperson did not respond to claims security were yelling and swearing at the teenagers.

In 2021, the festival was called a logistical disaster by irate parents as kids threw up after waiting in the sun and pre-drinking.

Festival organisers apologised then, saying stringent checking for illicit substances was responsible for the delays.

And in 2019, festivalgoers endured traffic queues kilometres long in the pouring rain, and long waits to enter.

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