Mass fence-jumpers at music festivals

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Fence jumping at Australian music festivals are a common occurrence but recent examples of organised mass gatecrashing has at least one security firm calling for an overhaul.

It was all for one and one for all when large groups jumped fences at two electronic dance music festivals in the past month.

Groups at the Listen Out festival in Sydney and Perth rushed and jumped perimeter fences to avoid paying, leaving event security guards helpless.

Fence jumping has occurred at Australian festivals for years, and both successful and unsuccessful attempts are now regularly posted online from events such as Future Music Festival, Soundwave and Big Day Out.

Fuzzy Events insist fence-jumping at festivals is nothing new: Listen Out Sydney 2014. Photo: Annabel Manning

In Sydney on September 27, a group was filmed charging the temporary fencing at Centennial Park en masse. The video was later uploaded to social media. The jump left a 29-year-old security guard with a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding after a person landed on him.

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Fuzzy Events, the presenter of Listen Out, said mass group fence-jumping is by no means a new trend and that it comes in and out of fashion.

"We assume it is likely at every event ... and we keep our eyes and ears open for groups organising on social media," director of Fuzzy Events John Wall said.

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Mass fence-jumpers at music festivals