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21st May 2024
11:13am BST
Concert prompter Peter Aiken has apologised and accepted complete responsibility for the queuing disorder outside of Croke Park during the Bruce Springsteen concert on Sunday.
A large proportion of ticketholders missed the start of The Boss’ set after chaos led to a massive queue attempting to get into the stadium.
The show was even delayed by about 15 minutes as the sold-out 80,000 crowd struggled to get in on time.
Mr Aiken of Aiken Promotions said that the backlog of entrants was down to ticket scanning machines not being able to pick up the ticket codes quick enough.
“It was bad, there’s no two ways about it," Mr Aiken told The Irish Times.
"It was bad, and by the time Bruce Springsteen came on stage around 70,000 tickets had been scanned with the remainder finished within 20 minutes of the start of the show.
“It wasn’t good enough. There were people from all over the country coming to see him and while everyone was in within the first 20 minutes nobody would want to miss any of it.”
Croke Park officials also said the situation on Sunday was “unacceptable”.
A spokesman told the Irish Mirror: “We agree that the queuing and entry into the stadium was unacceptable.
"We would like to apologise to fans who were frustrated with long queues and to thank them for their good behaviour.
"We will review the event management plan with the statutory services and in turn with the promoters to see what lessons can be learned."
4/4 nights 🎉 What a crowd & atmosphere! 🙌🏼 Thank you to everyone who came to sing and dance their hearts out tonight! 🎸
— Aiken Promotions (@aikenpromotions) May 19, 2024
Please get home safe 🧡 #brucespringsteen #springsteendublin #dublin #theestreetband pic.twitter.com/C42GVpU7UJ
People who managed to get inside the stadium before the gig began posted videos on social media showing hundreds of fans still streaming into the ground after Springsteen took to the stage just before 7.15pm.
Some witnesses said that the queue to get in stretched the whole way along Clonliffe Avenue to Drumcondra, with over an hour wait for some.
One fan commented: “Amazing performance the boss in Croke Park tonight. Some machine for 74yo. Pity about the disorganised chaos outside when queuing to get in.”
Another complained: “Shambles getting in to Croke Park, Joe Duffy will be busy tomorrow.”
A third added: “Chaos at Croke Park. Thousands still queuing to get in. 4 songs in and we’ve been in a queue for over 90 mins. Some people still queuing on the road outside”
Despite the initial chaos outside Croker, Springsteen managed to salvage the night with an incredible three hour-plus show packed with hits.
The 74-year-old was playing his final leg of his mini Irish tour, after visiting Belfast, Kilkenny and Cork during the month.
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