[embedded content]
Mumford & Sons vowed not to return to Sweden’s Bravalla Festival after police received over 30 reports of sexual assault.
Mumford & Sons expressed outrage with the organizers of Sweden’s Bravalla Festival after police received multiple reports of alleged sexual assault and rape. According to The Telegraph, police received five reports of rape and 12 of sexual assault at Bravalla, which is Sweden’s biggest festival and held in the southern city of Norrköping.
Sidebar
19 Worst Things About Woodstock ’99 »”We’re appalled to hear what happened at the Bravalla Festival last weekend,” the band wrote in a post on their Facebook page. “Festivals are a celebration of music and people, a place to let go and feel safe doing so. We’re gutted by these hideous reports.” Mumford & Sons headlined the three-day festival alongside Rammstein, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and more.
“We won’t play at this festival again until we’ve had assurances from the police and organizers that they’re doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence,” the band added.
Bravalla was not the only Swedish festival held last weekend to be marred by reports of sexual assault. According to the Associated Press, police received 35 reports of alleged assault from girls and young women attending the free Putte I Parken festival in Karlstad. Swedish police have reportedly identified, but not yet detained, seven young males suspected of carrying out the attacks. Karlstad Police Inspector Leif Nystrom said the attacks included groping, but there were no reports of rape.
Reps for both Bravalla and Putte I Parken were not immediately available for comment.
The high reports of sexual assault at Bravalla and Putte I Parken come six months after police in Sweden were accused of not informing the public about a string of similar attacks that took place at a festival in Stockholm summer 2015.
Source: RollingStone – Videos
