Storm prompts Latvia to review safety rules for public events

Several concerts and other events were cancelled or postponed after a severe storm in Latvia, while others went ahead, prompting a review of whether organisers have clear enough safety criteria, LSM reported.

The questions include whether an event may be held in the first place and, if it is already under way, whether and when it should be stopped.

The large concert by Gacho and Mesa at the Mežapark concert venue was initially scheduled for Saturday evening. After a storm warning was issued, organisers postponed it by one day.

The decision proved correct, as it was still unclear on Sunday morning whether the concert could take place. Fallen trees and roads closed off for safety reasons were visible throughout the area.

“There was no way to do it in such crazy weather. As I understood and heard, if the wind reaches 18 metres per second or something like that, you basically stop the concert and wait until it can resume. It could not have resumed there. Everything would have been torn down,” Gacho said.

On Sunday afternoon, however, the responsible services assessed the situation as safe enough for the concert to go ahead. People began arriving at Mežapark several hours before the start.

People interviewed by Latvian Television said they were relieved that the event would take place. One attendee said they had feared it would be cancelled or postponed, while another said they had been worried it might be moved again. A third said the most important thing was that the concert would happen because Gacho was part of their childhood memories.

The musician attracted almost enough people to fill Mežapark’s large concert venue, with the crowd singing and dancing along to every song.

The storm also affected events elsewhere in Latvia. The lights went out during the Latvian National Opera and Ballet performance of Tosca.