‘Don’t let a badly-behaved minority ruin balcony gigs’
NEW and regular visitors to the Cobo Balcony Gig would hate to see it cancelled due to unrelated incidents of violence in the area.
After a large scale brawl broke out at Le Mare De Carteret playing fields on the same day of the last gig, balcony gig organiser David Nussbaumer said many people wrongly assumed it was connected to the music event.
Mr Nussbaumer said he was not anticipating any incidents of violence at this week's event.
'The booze hadn't been bought from Cobo Bay or the Rockmount, the police know where it came from. We take the wrap for it and I'm getting fed up.'
The police said the incident was not linked to the gig and that the fight had been pre-arranged through social media.
'This is a wonderful event, don't let a badly-behaved minority ruin it for the vast majority,' he added.
More police than usual were patrolling the area. Mr Nussbaumer said he had met with law enforcement after the incident and that they had been fantastic throughout the process.
Learning support assistant Derak Reid and his wife Esther, who works at the Guernsey Institute, were sat on the far side of the wall away from the crowds.
'It would be a shame to see it cancelled – it is good for the sea front. It's good for our boys being able to go down onto the beach,' said Mrs Reid.
She said they had chosen to sit there to allow their children freedom to move around while still being able to hear the music.
Experiencing their first Balcony Gig were holidaymakers Yvonne and Gary Onnuck, who were visiting from Holland.
'It's great – it is our first time here,' said Mr Onnuck.
They said it was a great way to spend the second day of their holiday.
Finance worker Martyn Renouf, who is a regular attendee of the gigs, said the event should not be cancelled due to fights arranged via social media.
'By all accounts it was all organised online. They'll access social media but the police aren't going after leads.'
While other balcony gigs have seen many people drinking shop-bought alcohol on the beach, this week's event had a smaller crowd yesterday afternoon and most on the beach appeared to be there to swim or enjoy the sun.
