Stadium Management SA, which operates Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, has maintained that it was not responsible for security at Sunday’s Global Citizen Festival after a number of fans reported muggings following the event.
Jacques Grobbelaar, chief executive of Stadium Management SA, said that the local police and Global Citizen were overseeing safety and security for the music festival, which was headlined by Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
South African newspaper The Times reported that fans were involved in violent confrontations near the stadium following the event, with some even saying they were mugged at gunpoint.
In a statement reported by The Times, Grobbelaar said: “Any notion that SMSA was responsible for the safety and security and/or traffic management at the event is simply not true. The Event Safety and Security Planning Committee (ESSPC) Safety and Security Plan approved by the national commissioner of police is testimony to that.”
He added: “I was at the venue… police cleared out after the last performance. Usually we would stay for two hours after the event to ensure the safety and security of concert-goers.
“When we manage an event, we stay for at least two hours afterwards to ensure the safety and security of people. In this case, we were just landlords. The event was controlled by SAPS (South African Police Service) and Global Citizen.”
According to Grobbelaar, the SMSA was only responsible for hospitality, cleaning services, vendors and the management of existing commercial sponsors.
STADIUM MANAGEMENT SOUTH AFRICA STATEMENT REGARDING – GLOBAL CITIZEN CONCERT pic.twitter.com/FysUrbpBq9
— StadiumManagementSA (@OfficialSMSA) December 3, 2018
Image: Prosthetic Head
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