It joined 24 other UK festivals including T in the Park, Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Lovebox, Global Gathering, Parklife and Sonisphere by throwing its homepage into darkness yesterday (5 May).
Fans clicking on to the websites of the participating festivals were met with a completely black window except for a grey light bulb and the message ‘Don’t be in the dark about legal highs’. Upon clicking on the light bulb, information on legal highs appeared, with users able to either click through to find out more, or to navigate to the regular festival homepage. Many of the festivals’ social media profiles also featured the light bulb as their main profile picture.
The initiative has been put together by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), which is working with Angelus Foundation, a charity set up exclusively to educate individuals about the risks of legal highs. The initiative is expected to become an annual event.
Other festivals participating in the initiative are We Are FSTVL, 2000trees, ArcTanGent, Kendal Calling, Festibelly, Blissfields, Truck, Brownstock, Y Not Festival, Tramlines, Belladrum TartanHeart, Leefest, Nozstock, Wakestock, Shambala, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Parklife and Eden Sessions.
AIF said it stands against the sale of these substances at festivals and members are supporting this stance by banning the sale of legal highs by traders on-site at their events.
Ben Turner, AIF co-founder and vice chair, said: "Legal highs are a serious concern for any festival organiser and the issue is only going to get bigger. The substances have managed to fly under the radar purely by evolving faster than the monitoring bodies can regulate.
"Banning it at our festivals is only part of the battle, however, we need to make fans aware of the dangers of legal highs and help them make safer choices when having fun on site."
Comment below to let us know what you think.
For more in-depth and print-only features, showcases and interviews with world-leading brands, don't miss the next issue of Event magazine .