‘So unsafe’: Parking chaos after Lorde concert

Organisers of a Lorde concert in Perth over the weekend have been slammed after thousands of fans were left stuck in a car park after the event.

Parking chaos after Lorde concert in Perth.

It was described as a “fabulous, beautiful, magical night” - until hours of parking chaos hit Perth Lorde fans on Saturday.

The young Kiwi superstar took to the stage at Perth’s iconic Belvoir Amphitheatre at about 9pm, as she wrapped up her Solar Power tour.

The 26-year-old had been in Australia, with gigs in gigs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, after kicking off her tour in New Zealand.

New Zealand pop singer-songwriter Lorde, aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor, capped off her Solar Power Australian tour in Perth. Picture: Lachlan Douglas

According to fans, it was a magical night – until gig-goers needed to leave the venue in Upper Swan, a semirural area on Perth’s fringes.

Attendees reported lining up for as long as two hours to exit the property in the middle of the night.

Local media reported 5,000 cars had to leave the parking area by cramming out of one exit on to the Great Northern Highway.

There were reportedly no traffic wardens in place after the event during the mammoth bottleneck.

According to local media, the City of Swan claims it did not receive an event application or traffic management plan.

Fans praised Lorde’s performance at Belvoir Amphitheatre in Perth over the weekend but slammed organisers for parking chaos. Picture: Facebook

Nor was Main Roads made aware of the event, telling media it would investigate why it was not advised and requested to review any Traffic Management Plans.

One attendee, Kim Herman, took to social media to vent her frustration.

“Lorde, you did not disappoint – such a fabulous concert. Such a beautiful night at Belvoir Amphitheatre, and the stage set was just magical,” she wrote.

“Shame the night ended with it taking nearly [two] hours to get out of the car park thanks to no traffic controllers.”

Ben Treadgold, another attendee, said traffic management was “non-existent”.

“Extraordinary performance at Belvoir Amphitheatre,” he said.

“Traffic management non-existent. Incredibly disappointed by Belvoir Amphitheatre.

“One hour to exit parking fields at midnight.

Promoter Frontier Touring encouraged fans to make use of the free parking at the site. Picture: Facebook

“Public controlling traffic on 80km/h Great Northern Highway.

“Chaos – so unsafe.”

On Wednesday last week, promoter Frontier Touring spruiked the parking at the event, suggesting alternative means of getting there were scarce.

“This event is not running dedicated event buses. There is free parking available for up to 5000 cars in parking fields open from 5pm, or space for drop-offs and collections at the event gate end of the parking fields,” it wrote on Facebook.

News.com.au has contacted Frontier Touring and the Belvoir Amphitheatre for comment.

Originally published as ‘So unsafe’: Parking chaos after Lorde concert