Dark side of Boardmasters as it's dubbed an ‘underage carnival of horrors' amid drugs, sexual assaults & tragic death

The Irish Sun

2 hours ago

Festivalgoer George Zographou sent a heartbreaking text in his final moments, warning that he might not survive
FESTIVAL CHAOS Dark side of Boardmasters as it's dubbed an 'underage carnival of horrors' amid drugs, sexual assaults & tragic death
STUDENT George Zographou set off for the Boardmasters festival for a weekend of fun after completing his A-Levels.
The 18-year-old from Bristol drove to Newquay, Cornwall, with two female friends back in 2017 - but never made it home after falling ill and dying six days later when his parents had to make the heartbreaking call to turn off his life support machine.
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The Boardmasters beach festival is held every year in Cornwall and attracts thousands of partygoers
Credit: Alamy
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George Zographou, 18, died after attending Boardmasters festival and falling ill
Credit: Supplied by George Zographo and family
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Multiple people were reportedly injured during a crowd crush last year
George collapsed in a medical tent at the festival, suffering from Meningitis B (MenB), a deadly bacterial infection. In a statement issued later, the organiser said a test had not indicated the condition.
Instead, George, who could barely walk when he went to find help at the site's medical facility, was diagnosed with a fractured ankle and dehydration.
Despite deteriorating throughout the day and becoming agitated and confused, an ambulance was only called after he had a cardiac arrest. He was revived, but by then, doctors confirmed he was brain-dead.
The last text he sent read: 'I think I'm dying.'
George's mum, Elaine, believes that organisers should have done more to save her son and says that they have a higher responsibility to their audience than other festival hosts because of the age of ticket holders.
George was a sensible boy. He didn't do drugs or anything like that. He was leaving for the festival early, so the night before he left, I helped him pack his bags and gave him a kiss good night and told him I loved him.
Elaine Zographou
Boardmasters attracts a young post-GCSE and A-level crowd, teenagers looking to celebrate the end of their exams during the summer months before heading to university.
Elaine says: "I know things happen at all festivals, but at Boardmasters they are young teenagers, they're probably first timers, they're naïve. They need a little bit more security, help and backing."
This August, Boardmasters will welcome up to 65,000 fun-seekers for five days of music and partying, drawn in by headliners Raye, Central Cee and The Prodigy.
The crowd capacity has increased since 2023, when it was 53,000 visitors. 2024 saw 58,000 festival-goers attend.
Last year, safety measures at the festival were called into question after seven attendees were taken to hospital following a crowd crush ahead of a DJ set by teenage favourite Sammy Virji.
'It was carnage!' slams mum over Boardmasters crowd surge that hospitalised 7 & saw 100s of kids in tears
Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes. One woman who attended with her daughters described the 'carnage' in a social media post.
She wrote: 'There were kids holding their legs, there were kids being carried.' Another described seeing someone with what appeared to be bone 'coming out of his leg'.
A teenager who gave his name as Tristan told the BBC: "There was definitely not enough security to handle the surge.
'I saw the first broken leg ten minutes before the music was due to start. Friends of the injured boy were trying to get him to safety, but none of us could move. I could see his leg, bent horribly and covered in blood,' he said.
Jade Brooks, 23, sustained a broken knee. She recalls: "I had about 10 people fall onto my legs. I was screaming 'My legs' when I heard the crunch as someone landed on it."
Following the incident, organisers posted on X: 'No serious injuries have been reported and our pit and medical teams responded immediately to assist those involved.'
'Totally out of control'
But across social media, the festival has come under fire from concerned parents.
One parent on Reddit branded the event 'an underage carnival of horrors' and blasted: 'This festival was TOTALLY out of control.'
In previous years, there have been reports of sexual assaults, rapes, and dangerous drugs.
Several parents say their children saw drugs being consumed on the site, and dealers targeting youngsters. Last year, Levi Bethune-Jones, 37, and Luke Belcher, 36, were pulled over on the A30 near Bodmin on their way to the festival.
In their van, they were carrying 411 2CB tablets, 225 MDMA tablets, 174 grams of ketamine, 70 grams of cannabis resin, 31 grams of herbal cannabis, 137 grams of magic mushrooms, and two boxes of nitrous oxide canisters. Police believe they intended to sell the drugs at the festival.
Bethune-Jones, from Birmingham, was found guilty of five counts of possession with intent to supply drugs at a trial at Truro Crown Court in April 2025 and was jailed for three years and eight months. Belcher, also from Birmingham, pleaded guilty to five counts of possession with intent to supply drugs and was jailed for three years.
Rob Spring, Festival Director of Boardmasters, said afterwards: 'Boardmasters operates a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drugs and substances in line with UK law.'
In 2022, warning posters were put up around the festival site after two strains of potentially dangerous drugs were found on festival grounds.
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Jade Brooks fractured her knee when 'ten people fell on her' during a performance
Credit: PA
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The festival attracts a young crowd - mostly teens looking to celebrate the end of the exam season
Credit: Alamy
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Levi Bethune-Jones and Luke Belcher were pulled over on route to the event and found to be carrying huge amounts of drugs
Credit: Devon/Cornwall Police
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Several festival goers have reported serious sexual assaults at the event (stock image of revellers)
Credit: Alamy
Attendees have also reported serious sexual assaults at the event, with police issuing an e-fit of a man wanted in relation to a suspected sex crime only last year.
In 2022, a 17-year-old girl was raped by two men in a tent at the festival, and in previous years, a 16-year-old girl from Somerset was attacked, and a 17-year-old boy was later arrested on suspicion of rape.
A teenage girl, 17, was also subjected to a "deeply upsetting and shocking" sexual attack on a train on her way home from the festival. She was assaulted twice, by two different men.
The risks are not confined to on-site activity. In one Reddit post, a mother asks for advice on whether the festival is safe for her teenage daughter.
One reply from someone claiming to be a festival worker tells her: 'What's actually dangerous about Boardmasters is the off-site part of the festival. You have all the water-related dangers to consider, like jumping into shallow water, swimming drunk, weak swimmers etc.'
The 'worker' explains that Boardmasters is 'as safe as any other festival' and says 'there is plenty of security around 24/7' but admits 'there will be drinking, there will be sex and there will be tears' but that there will also 'be fun'.
'It was too late'
The words ring hollow for the family of George Zographou.
He had a promising life ahead of him. He was due to get his A-level results the day after the festival ended and had a place lined up at Aston University, where he planned to study international development and international business.
Elaine, 71, continues: 'George was a sensible boy. He didn't do drugs or anything like that. He was leaving for the festival early, so the night before he left, I helped him pack his bags and gave him a kiss good night and told him I loved him.'
When George first fell ill at the event, he was in contact with his parents via his mobile phone. Elaine learned that his heartbeat was three times higher than normal.
The ambulance was called. The paramedics revived him and took him to the hospital, but it was too late.
Elaine Zographou
She says: 'We decided to go and pick him up, and I spoke to the senior doctor who said, 'Don't worry, he'll be under my care. He will be with me the whole time until you come and pick him up.'
But George was moved to a recovery tent, and Elaine struggled to get more information about his condition. George's dad, Andrew, left for Cornwall around 4pm in the afternoon.
Elaine continued to call her son to find out what was happening, but he stopped answering his phone. At one point, a security guard answered it and said George had become agitated and confused.
Elaine recalls: 'They asked us to hurry up and pick him up because he was violent. I was absolutely shocked. That was not like George at all.'
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George with his mum, dad and sister
Credit: Supplied by George Zographo and family
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Elaine with George
Credit: Supplied by George Zographo and family
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65,000 people are said to be heading to the festival this year
Credit: Alamy
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Girls pulled out from the crowd by security at Boardmasters in previous years
Credit: Alamy
Later, someone answered George's phone and told Elaine he was asleep. At some point, George had complained about discomfort and was placed on the floor. Soon after, he suffered a heart attack.
'That's when the ambulance was called. The paramedics revived him and took him to the hospital, but it was too late,' says a tearful Elaine.
Andrew was halfway to Cornwall when someone from the Royal Truro Hospital rang him on George's phone.
He says: "He asked if I was driving and suggested I pull over. He said: 'Your son has been brought in and he is very poorly indeed'. It was a complete shock."
When he arrived at the hospital, he was told that his son was on life support. He called his wife.
Elaine says, fighting back tears: "When Andy called and told me, I was sorting George's bedroom out and putting new sheets on the bed for when he came back."
Over the following days, tests showed George was brain dead and that there was no hope. As he lay wired to machines that kept him breathing, hundreds of his friends from all over the country came to say their final goodbyes.
The paramedics revived him and took him to hospital, but it was too late.
George's mum, Elaine
Six days after George left to go to the festival, his life support system was switched off. Elaine, Andrew and his sister Nicole, 37, who rushed back from a holiday in Ibiza when she got the news, were at his side.
By then, MenB had been diagnosed. Two people from George's college had contracted the infection 18 months previously. One had died. And earlier in 2024, another student, one of George's friends, had also contracted it.
Private vaccinations are available at around £300 and after George died, the whole of his year group was vaccinated, along with his family, who now campaign to raise awareness of meningitis and particularly MenB and have raised thousands of pounds for Meningitis charities in George's memory.
Nicole now works as a health protection practitioner at the UK Health Security Agency. She believes Boardmasters should have a low threshold for sending young people to hospital, especially if no drugs and alcohol are involved, as in George's case.
She says: "It's also important for festivals to promote vaccine awareness ahead of mass gatherings.
In July 2018, the Cornwall Coroner, Dr Emma Carlyon, ruled George had died of natural causes and refused to order an inquest.
Festival promoters Vision Nine said they pride themselves on hiring a 'first-class medical team'.
They said George was never left unmonitored and claimed he had not wanted to go to hospital. They added that the mottled rash on his left foot was a 'single small red mark' and that blood tests for meningitis came back negative.
In a statement, the organisers said he had received a 'thorough examination' and he did not show any signs of sepsis or meningitis. 'Boardmasters has been staged in Cornwall for over 10 years, with over 250,000 music fans enjoying five days of entertainment in a safe and secure environment,' a spokesman for Boardmasters said.
After last year's event, police reported that 11 people had been arrested on suspicion of drug offences, sexual offences and assault.
As thousands gather for a weekend of partying this weekend, George's family will be gathering to remember their son and to mark another year since his death.
The Sun has reached out to the organisers of Boardmasters Festival.
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Six days after George left to go to the festival, his life support system was switched off
Credit: Supplied by George Zographo and family
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A coroner ruled he died of natural causes
Credit: Facebook