DJ Rob da Bank, founder of Bestival, hopes move will help to undermine 'dangerous fad' that led to death of festivalgoer.
More than 20 of the UK's leading festivals are to participate in a digital blackout to highlight the dangers posed by legal highs. On Monday the websites of festivals including Bestival, T in the Park, Secret Garden Party, Parklife and many others will feature a black screen showing nothing but a grey light bulb and the message: Don't be in the dark about legal highs. The stunt, organised by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), is an attempt to undermine the fast-growing market for the dangerous substances. Experts from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths said that in 2012 there were 68 deaths relating to legal highs, though the figure has been disputed by other experts.
Rob da Bank, the radio DJ and Bestival's founder, banned legal highs at his event two years ago "because we were very conscious of the dangers and the complete russian roulette of taking them". He said of the blackout: "It was universally agreed it was something we wanted to support." A festivalgoer died at Bestival a couple of years ago after taking what they thought was a legal high when it was actually something else, he said. "That really demonstrates how dangerous they are and how taking them can be a real game of life and death." He said he hoped the blackout, predicted to reach an audience of 500,000, would help undermine the "dangerous fad. There's no point in being lovey-dovey about this," he added. "But the message is particularly to young people who have never tried legal highs or are thinking of trying them and just showing them how the risks outweigh the benefits."
