Two People Die Following Sydney’s Knockout Outdoor Festival 2023

October 2, 2023

Two people have died after attending Sydney’s Knockout Outdoor music festival over the Labour Day long weekend. The event took place at Giants Stadium in Sydney’s Olympic Park on Saturday, 30th September. More than 50,000 people turned out for performances from hard dance acts Sefa, Dmitri K, Odium and stacks more.

NSW Health confirmed the two casualties as men in their 20s, per the ABC. A 26-year-old man was treated on-site before being taken to Concord Hospital – approximately five kilometres from the venue – where he later died. A 21-year-old man had left the festival when he fell ill at a hotel in Chippendale in the Sydney CBD. He was taken to hospital and later confirmed dead.

Deaths, arrests and sniffer dogs, but no pill testing

Yesterday I said this at Listen Out in response to the presence of drug dogs.

Now we’ve just heard there’s been 2 deaths at festivals overnight.

Are we seriously going into another summer with the same failed and dangerous strategy that the Coronial Inquest said costs lives? pic.twitter.com/IAti9BTcMI
— Cate Faehrmann ?? (@greencate) October 1, 2023

The two deaths are speculated to be linked to drug use, though police are waiting for the autopsy results before making any definitive statements. “This shows that people can die at music festivals,” said Simon Glasser, Detective Superintendent at NSW Police Force. He added, “Drugs can have some horrible consequences. When you mix that with the heat of yesterday, it’s an added risk factor that can cause adverse affects.”

A further nine Knockout Outdoor attendees were transferred to hospital in the course of the day, while one person who attended Listen Out at Sydney’s Centennial Park was transferred to hospital. There were numerous drug-related arrests across the two festivals – NSW Police said they discovered drugs on 85 people at Listen Out, while 27 Knockout punters were charged with drug possession.

Advocates for pill testing, such as NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, are demanding immediate action ahead of what could be an extremely deadly festival season.