Germany’s Rock am Ring music festival was cancelled on Sunday after being struck by lightning yet again for the second year, this time injuring at least 80 fans.
The German Red Cross reported at least 72 fans were injured Friday night after the storm hit. The number have risen to over 80, after eight people were seriously injured Saturday morning when lightning struck again.
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Footage of Friday’s occurence can be seen below.
Though performances were suspended on Saturday, organisers only decided to cancel the three-day festival (Jun 3-5) yesterday, after local authorities revoked its license yesterday morning.
Rock am Ring stated on Facebook in German that they regretted the decision to cancel. However, it was necessary for the safety of all attendees:
Dear festival goers,
Rock am Ring must prematurely come to an end after the second day due to Sunday’s weather warning and the Mendig municipality’s revocation of the festival’s license to be held on its final day. The organisers agreed with the decision for the welfare of the fans. On the first day of the festival, more than 80 visitors were badly injured by the lightning and have been admitted to hospitals. Due to this risk, we would like to ask you to leave the festival grounds after the end of the performances, no later than Sunday, 12:00 PM.
We regret the decision though ask for your understanding of this emergency due to the storms.
Nevertheless, organisers were criticised on Facebook for not having cancelled the festival earlier on.
The Rock am Ring festival, one of Germany’s most popular rock festivals, was held at the former Mendig airbase, with over 92,000 attendees.
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The festival, now in its 31st edition, also suffered from lightning strikes last year, with 33 people sent to the hospital.
This year’s lineup included over 80 rock fiends, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, Volbeat, Disturbed, Biffy Clyro, Deftones, Shinedown, Bring Me the Horizon, and Korn.
