This weekend in Pärnu, police were busy. At the Weekend Festival Baltic, a total of 27 crimes were registered. 156 misdemeanour procedures were launched including 96 involving minors. Of the latter, 84 had to do with minors consuming alcohol, reported the police.
From Thursday till today, a total of 125 traffic violations were registered, 118 of which had to do with speeding. Over the weekend, the police removed seven drink drivers from traffic.
213 people were taken to the police station, 99 of these minors. 53 were locked up till sober, including 9 minors who turned aggressive.
The festival started off by a nightmare for the organisers with a serious fault discovered in the sound tech construction for the main stage. The gates were opened 1.5 hours late.
Therefore, a mass of people gathered at the tickets point whom the police had to tame. On top of that, certain entertainers like Darude (Finland) and Lost Frequencies (Belgium) never made it to the platform.
All in all, the festival saw close to 80 artists perform on its four stages. With tens of thousands drawn to Pärnu, local economy got quite a boost.
Accommodation prices were manifold times up and rooms packed out. To say nothing about the caterers and stores.
To provide transportation, taxis were present from Tallinn. In addition to official camping area with tents available and allowed, lots of locals had opened up their yards for people to spend the night.