Distortion festival: party-pooping police temporarily close Rådhuspladsen and arrest 17 people

Despite fears to the contrary, so far Copenhagen’s annual outdoor electronic bacchanalia has gone off pretty much without incident

Stephen Gadd

Jun 1, 2018

As anyone living in central Copenhagen will know unless they are stone deaf, Distortion is upon us once again.

Yesterday’s party kicked off with DJs pumping it out in Vesterbro and at Copenhagen’s main town square, Rådhuspladsen.

It could be worse
However, revellers have been pretty well-behaved so far, considering the numbers involved.

Copenhagen Police has confirmed that only 17 people were arrested last night, reports TV2 Nyheder.

And it was a pretty mixed bag when it came to what they were charged with. Five contravened drug laws, three were working in Denmark illegally, one was carrying a crowbar in contravention of the laws on weapons, one committed an indecent act and one was already wanted by the police.

A police spokesperson described the number of arrests as being “what you’d expect considering the scale of the event”.

On Wednesday evening, an estimated 100,000 people took part and 15 arrests were made, mainly for drug-related offences.

Only football fans
At one point last night, a brawl erupted in front of the Red Bull stage on Vesterbro between rival fans of FC Copenhagen and Brøndby, but according to police, nobody was hurt.

Police also temporarily closed the party on Rådhuspladsen after a massive influx clamboured for a view of Morten Breum, the famous DJ.

If you’re not too tired, the party continues tonight and on Saturday on Refshaleøen.

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