Last June, 17-year-old Emily Stokes died after taking MDMA at a drum ‘n’ bass gig at Dreamland in Margate.
A further 21 youngsters were hospitalised, and an inquest later revealed gaps in staff training and shortcomings in the response of medical teams.
Twelve months on, the same event – run again by touring promoters Worried About Henry – returned under less visible branding, so I went along to see if lessons had been learned.
When we arrived, the security operation looked serious – like you’d see at an airport.
Metal-barrier queues led to ticket checks, scanners, pat-downs, and drug dogs. TV screens inside reinforced the no-drugs, no-under-18s policy and urged people to stay hydrated.
I’d stuck to the rules – mostly. I brought a small bag and had no banned items, but did forget about a sealed pack of Ibuprofen. Dreamland’s website says even over-the-counter meds such as Paracetamol must be cleared by medics at the gate and a prescription shown.
But when the bag was searched and my spray suncream confiscated (a blow for a ginger in 26-degree heat!), the Ibuprofen was only glanced at and placed back inside without comment.
It left me wondering how easy it might still be to bring in something more serious, although I suspect the specialist dogs are trained to sniff out anything stronger than anti-inflammatories.
When we arrived at 3.30pm, many revellers were clearly several drinks – or more – deep, and it wasn’t long before we saw a man – shirtless and in a bucket hat – being led away by security.
He was the first of five people we saw escorted out – arguably a modest number for an event of this scale.
And despite the occasional removal, the atmosphere remained upbeat. There was no sign of tension or trouble as we walked past the main stage, weaving through the happy, dancing crowd.
The smell of cannabis, however, was unmistakable – and almost inescapable.
I didn’t see security take any ‘cigarettes’ off people, but I also question how much they can realistically do. After all, everyone seemed to be having a good time, and there was no ruckus or fuss.
In one toilet cubicle, I spotted a small empty plastic bag that looked suspiciously like it once contained drugs.
That said, private paramedics were ever-present and clearly proactive, and drug charity The Loop had a tent offering harm reduction advice.
But shortly after 5pm there was commotion in the crowd. The music stopped, the bar shutters dropped, and security started asking people to leave.
One bouncer told us: “They’ve been drinking alcohol – with that, the heat and the drugs, we can’t do it. We’re running out of medical staff.”
There were no mass protests – just some muttering as thousands were ushered out of the venue at about 5.40pm. And unlike last year, when police opted not to shut down the event to avoid a “large-scale public order incident”, this time they were ready.
The seafront was immediately swarming with officers and vans.
A dispersal order was already in place after recent trouble in other towns, and it did the job. Most people either found a pub, headed to the beach, or quietly caught a train home.
At the time of writing, Dreamland has only said on social media that the heat forced them to close early, although one of the acts told the crowd there had been a “medical emergency”, and police confirmed they had been made aware of a “medical incident”.
With blazing heat and alcohol always a risky combination, the weather hadn’t done organisers any favours – but they’d recognised the risks and clearly didn’t want to take any chances.
Overall, the operation ran smoothly. Security and medical teams were very visible, the messaging was clear, and there was a concerted effort to prioritise harm reduction.
Additional measures had also been introduced since last year’s tragedy, including banning under-18s from such events, enhanced training for staff – including around age verification – more stringent bag checks and drugs policies, and a higher number of paramedics on site for high-risk shows.
A no re-entry rule was also enforced to limit risks.
And while no festival of this scale can ever guarantee perfection, it felt like a genuine attempt to prevent history repeating itself.
Dreamland has proven itself to be one of Kent’s best outdoor music venues, successfully hosting dozens of major gigs each year without incident.
Whether it will risk hosting another drum ‘n’ bass event next year remains to be seen, but I suspect it won’t take the chance.
