Hundreds of Download Festival participants affected by food poisoning

Two vendors have been shut down at the Download Festival after hundreds of music fans were struck down by food poisoning, North West Leicestershire District Council said. Event organizer Live Nation closed the stalls after hundreds of people were reported to have contracted the disease, with some having to use buckets as makeshift toilets.

A YouTuber and influencer said his sister fell victim and was told while in the medical tent that up to 500 people had been affected by “a veritable epidemic of food poisoning”. An interpreter said he had to go to the hospital for treatment.

The NWLDC said it worked with Live Nation to investigate two providers, which were subsequently shut down. The sellers have not been publicly named. A spokesman for the authority said it would “continue to investigate the outbreak”.

READ MORE: Download the longest queue of the Festival – and it’s not for beer, toilets or showers

Symptoms of food poisoning, according to the NHS, include:

• feeling sick
• diarrhea
• to be sick
• stomach cramps
• a high temperature
• generally feeling unwell – such as feeling tired or achy and chills

It is caused by eating something that has been contaminated with germs, said the health service, which added that it can happen if the food:

• not cooked or reheated properly
• is not stored correctly – for example, it has not been frozen or chilled
• is left out too long
• is handled by someone who is sick or has not washed their hands
• is consumed after the expiration date

Rob Kellas of YouTube channel TPD TV told his Instagram followers that his sister Mary had to leave the festival and go home after being struck down by the illness, which can cause severe stomach pains. Raiders frontman Sean Smith took to X, formerly of Twitter, to say he was left in hospital with an IV following a bout of food poisoning, which he said he believed came from eating some food from beef brisket behind the scenes.

Festivalgoer Bronwyn Gwillym told The Mirror she fell ill on Saturday after eating a Yorkshire pudding filled with a traditional roast dinner. “I sanitized my hands and used the cutlery provided,” she said.

“I felt fine that night, but woke up around 3-4 in the morning with severe cramps.” Bronwyn said she had been “seriously ill”, with fever, diarrhea and sickness all weekend and had “never known pain like this” and complained to festival organisers.

“I attend the Download Festival every year and it’s my most anticipated holiday, but unfortunately I got to see very little of it,” she added. “I contacted (Leicestershire County Council) Environmental Health and a member of my camp went to collect a sample pot which I will send in the post.”

Paul Sanders, head of community services at NWLDC, told LeicestershireLive: “We carried out continuous food hygiene safety checks on site throughout the five days of the festival to ensure all vendors met the required standards.

“Where we find that improvements are needed, we provide advice and carry out a follow-up visit to ensure that improvements have been made. We worked with the event organizer to investigate two food vendors, both of which were closed by the event organizer over the weekend.

“We are aware of reports of people feeling unwell and will continue to investigate. Anyone who continues to feel unwell following Download Festival should contact their GP in the first instance.”

LeicestershireLive has contacted Live Nation for comment and is awaiting a response.

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