On Friday afternoon, a sign collapsed at “The U.K’s Biggest Christian Festival” located at the Wiston Estate in West Sussex, England.
Sussex police revealed that a 41 year old man died after a “large sign” fell at the site. The police are urging any witnesses or anybody with any information about the incident to “come forward” and to give information, you can call 101 quoting “Operation Igloo” or report it online.
One of our team and founder, Sam Brindley, was on-site at the festival, along with around 40,000 other attendees as the event unfolded. He was inside the worship tent, when the worship band stopped playing and they made the announcement that there was an emergency, they were closing the tent and keeping everybody inside for their safety.
After a while, the tent was released into the campsite, and all Day-Visitors were told to congregate in the “Main Arena”.
A few hours later, more updates were given, and later that evening, it was announced that the festival would be drawn to a complete close for the weekend.
The events that occurred at Big Church Festival this weekend were horrific and devastating.
“all of our thoughts are with those who have been affected, their families and friends, and everyone who witnessed what happened.” The organisers of the event said in a Statement (viewable on their website)
The statement also reads “Big Church Festival is about bringing people together. Tonight, that community is grieving. Right now, our focus is on those directly affected by what happened today.”
With thousands of posts on social media expressing their prayers, grief and sorrow for the individuals and families affected by the incident, as well as the team managing Big Church Festival, along with the local authorities, it is clear that the community that surrounds Big Church Festival is caring, and most are generally in support of the festival and do not want to see it come to a complete end forever.
“I am sure the Big Church Festival team, everyone who was on site, and in particularly those and the families of the injured would appreciate privacy, thoughts and prayers” – Sam Brindley, founder of Christian Media Network
Any further updates around the event will be available from Big Church Festival directly via their website
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