FOMO organisers make heartfelt plea to festival attendees
After a spate of fatal drug-related incidents at music festivals, the organisers of the hugely popular FOMO Festival have asked attendees to “take your life seriously” ahead of the Parramatta event this weekend.
- Blood tests after festival overdoses used to trace kingpins
- Sale for DIY drug testing kits soar 110 per cent
The summer festival season has sparked renewed debate over pill testing at events, following the deaths of four people from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in NSW since September.
Last May, Groovin the Moo in Canberra was the first music festival in Australia to offer free legal pill testing as a trial and advocates say it should be rolled out to others.
Those against it argue that mobile pill testing does not guarantee safety and sends the wrong message.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who has previously rejected the idea of pill testing being introduced to music festivals, last week softened her stance on the issue slightly.
“If there was a way in which we could ensure that lives were saved through pill testing we would consider it — but there is no evidence provided to the government on that,” she said.
FOMO music festival arrives in Parramatta Park on Saturday following events in Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland and Perth.
A post to the FOMO Facebook page on January 2 read:
‘Game-changing’: Revamps coming to a western Sydney pub near you
Hotels, bowling alleys, rooftop bars, cocktail lounges and reimagined menus. A hospitality group is splashing more than $50m to upgrade its venues across Sydney. Here’s what’s in store.
‘Always wanted to do it’: English hero leading Parra’s junior stars
Josh Hodgson knows what it takes to rise through the ranks. Now he’s helping one of rugby league’s best nurseries to foster the next generation as he transitions into the coaching caper at Parramatta.