By Police have confirmed that a young man has died at Sydney’s Knockout music festival, with three others hospitalized.
A young man has died at Sydney’s Knockout music festival overnight, with police confirming three others were taken to the hospital.
Emergency services were called to the Sydney Showground at Homebush around 11:50 pm on Saturday, where paramedics attempted to revive a man in his 20s.
Despite their efforts, the man could not be revived. Police have since established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
At a Sunday press conference, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb described the situation as an “unfortunate incident” at one of the season’s first festivals, where a man had passed away.
She noted there was no indication of drug use prior to the man’s death.
“We believe he had underlying health issues, and there’s no suggestion of drug taking,” she said.
The case has been referred to the coroner.
Ms. Webb acknowledged that multiple people had been hospitalized due to separate drug-related incidents.
“Taking illegal drugs always carries significant risks. You don’t know where they’re made, what they contain, or how your body will react,” she said.
“So, it’s a very risky choice, and I want people to understand that.”
A NSW Health spokesperson confirmed that three festival attendees were transported to the hospital by ambulance. All three remain in stable condition.
This incident comes ahead of the long-anticipated four-day NSW drug summit, with regional hearings set to begin in October and two days of meetings scheduled in Sydney on December 4 and 5.
Pill testing is expected to be a central topic, as the state government faces growing pressure to implement such services at festivals. Victoria has already committed to a trial over the summer, following the success of similar trials in the ACT and Queensland.
Speaking outside the Knockout festival on Saturday, several attendees told NewsWire that ensuring the safety of festival-goers was crucial.
A 25-year-old attendee said that pill testing is “really important,” adding that people will inevitably bring drugs into festivals.
“It should be essential,” he stated. “People are going to bring drugs in no matter what. There’s no point fighting it because, at the end of the day, they’ll find a way.”
Another 25-year-old woman agreed that while it would be ideal if people didn’t use drugs, pill testing could help “make sure people are as safe as possible.”
“You hear horror stories of things going wrong for some people. If pill testing can reduce the risk of deaths and serious harm, I think it’s definitely a good idea,” she said.
These calls for action come after two men died from suspected drug overdoses at last year’s Knockout Outdoor festival in Sydney, with nine medical emergencies also requiring urgent hospital transfers during the 2023 event.