CHELMSFORD City Racecourse cannot have more than 10,000 people at its music concerts – following warnings, a recent Justin Timberlake gig could have ended in someone’s death reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Around 23,000 people attended the opening night of Chelmsford City Live on Friday, July 4, to see the American singer, and around 45,000 people attended across the three nights of the festival in total.
But the event was marred by guests having to queue for hours to leave, particularly on Friday night. Many even took to walking home, which police say could have resulted in a fatal road accident.
It sparked a review of Chelmsford City Racecourse’s licence after police said people could die if it is allowed to hold similar events.
Lawyer Philip Kolvin, representing the racecourse, urged Chelmsford City Council’s licensing committee not to impose new maximum guest numbers, while Lewis Mould, the city council’s Public Health and Protection Services manager, urged the licensing committee to cap numbers at just 5,000.
Mr Kolvin said he did not want a cap on the number of people attending the events, but if one were to be put in place, he would “rather it be 10,000 than 5,000.”
The committee agreed it was proportionate to limit numbers to 10,000 from a previous cap of 29,999 while criticising “catastrophic failure in operational management.”
The limit would only apply to music concerts and would not affect other events such as horse racing.
A statement from the committee said: “The committee finds on the balance of probabilities – the evidence is, in fact, compelling – that as regards the music-led event on Friday, July 4 2025 – featuring Justin Timberlake – and with an attendance of 22,993 people- there was catastrophic failure in operational management on the part of the licence-holder which resulted in chaos.
“The public, by venturing onto the A131 in their 100s as pedestrians, were potentially at risk of sustaining serious injury or even death, and furthermore, there was widespread traffic disruption which amounted to a public nuisance which detrimentally impacted, among others, residents in the locality and motorists.
The racecourse has said it admits its own responsibility to prevent them from
happening again, but adds “resolving the challenges in the area outside our venue will require the support and cooperation of local authorities”.
Nathan Holmes, Chief Executive Officer at Chelmsford City Racecourse, said: “The safety of our visitors has always been and remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise to our guests and local residents for the disruption caused.
“While we are disappointed that new conditions will be applied to standalone music events, it has been overwhelming to see so much support for our venue throughout this process.
“We want to offer the best experiences possible for our customers, and this extends to how guests arrive and leave our venue. We are committed to making this work with our partners and to bringing the very best entertainment to the region.”
