Festival organizer confirms security errors in Solid Grooves stabbing | Domestic

ID&T is an events agency that organizes, among other things, the Solid Grooves festival in Amsterdam. The agency is the sole shareholder of Solid-Grooves organizer Apenkooi. ID&T confirms that more tickets were sold for that event than allowed.

5,000 tickets were allowed, but the organization sold more than 7,500 instead. In addition, there was “insufficient scaling up” when it turned out that it was too busy. In other words: there were too few security guards.

This is evident from a study conducted by an external law firm. ID&T announced the results on Thursday.

Solid Grooves took place on May 28, 2023 in Amsterdam. The atmosphere would have been grim and it would have been too busy. There were several disturbances and some people were robbed. A fight also broke out that culminated in a stabbing. 21-year-old Jimmy Schepers, who had intervened, was stabbed. He didn’t survive this.

The event led to an internal investigation being conducted later in 2023. “Serious shortcomings” were seen in this, ID&T said in October. Apenkooi’s management was replaced in October 2023 when it was clear after this first investigation that it was too busy.

“It is unacceptable that the operational standards and norms that visitors and the municipality can expect from us have not been met,” ID&T management now says. The management has shared the conclusions from the recent research with those involved and with the municipality of Amsterdam.

“It is now up to us to ensure that this does not happen again in the future,” the director writes in a press release. The organization has implemented various measures to this end, such as internal control over decision-making. “All internal and external protocols” have also been examined.

ID&T emphasizes that the specific circumstances of the fatal stabbing incident at the time of the event were not part of the internal investigation. “This is in the hands of the police and the judiciary and takes place within the criminal investigation into the suspects in question,” the organization said.

Two suspects are on trial for the fatal stabbing. The substantive hearing of their case is expected to take place at the end of this year.