There was moerse panic when mense feared gunshots at New York’s Global Citizen Festival at the weekend. But it was only a police barrier collapsing.
The incident at the Central Park celebrity music show on Saturday sent thousands of spectators fleeing in panic.
About 60 000 people had filled the park’s Great Lawn for the eight-hour festival, which featured greats like Janet Jackson and John Legend, as well as Cardi B and The Weeknd.
Just before 8pm, the cop barrier meant to keep the crowd in check toppled over, releasing a clanging sound giving spectators a groot skrik.
The NYPD tweeted that no shots had been fired.
There were NO SHOTS FIRED at #GlobalCitizenFestival. The sound was a fallen barrier. @NYPDCentralPark @GlblCtzn
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 29, 2018
Assuring the crowd that “nobody is trying to hurt anyone”, Coldplay leader Chris Martin told spectators there was “no need to push people out of the way”.
Legend introduced his new song, Preach, whose message he said is that people can’t just preach but must act.
“In the song, we talk about how frustrating it can be to look at your phone, read the news, see what’s happening. It’s not enough for us to talk about it or tweet about it, we’ve got to do something.”
A slew of Mzansi stars also stieked uit, with SA personality Bonang Matheba introducing performer Sho Madjozi, who performed her smash hit track, Huku.
“Tonight to bring us a taste of what to look forward to in sunny South Africa this December, one of the most exciting voices on the rap scene today,” Bonang said before welcoming Sho Madjozi to the stage.
SA celebs Maps Maponyane, Pearl Thusi, Nandi Madida and Nomzamo Mbatha also had a jol.