Cleanup well underway at PNE venue after Lil Baby riot (PHOTOS)

Cleanup after the Lil Baby riot at the PNE Amphitheatre. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Efforts to clean up the PNE Amphitheatre were well underway this morning after young concertgoers broke out in a riot Sunday night when the headliner cancelled at the very last minute.

Enraged fans turned to vandalism and violence after Lil Baby pulled out, despite thousands of fans who had already turned up. Tickets for the weekend-long Breakout Festival cost between $149 and $349, plus taxes, and the second day of the festival on Sunday started at 2 pm.

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In a statement issued this morning, Breakout Festival organizers said the riot was “the worst case scenario of disappointment due to Sunday’s final performer canceling, and we want to apologize to everyone who peacefully left the venue, as well as the venue staff and Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood for the way Breakout 2022 ended.

“We do not condone violence or destruction of property and are utterly disappointed with the way some of our patrons acted at this year’s event. Safety of our guests and venue staff is our number one concern. We did everything to make Breakout a unique and enjoyable experience for Vancouver’s rap fans.”

Organizers add that they will be releasing information on partial refunds to ticketholders at a later time.

Cleanup after the Lil Baby riot at the PNE Amphitheatre. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

According to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), hundreds of people were involved in the vandalism and violence within the PNE Amphitheatre, elsewhere in Hastings Park, and in the surrounding neighbourhood. So far, seven people have been arrested, and it will be months before the full criminal investigation is complete.

Photos and videos of the rioters in action were posted on social media.

“We will conduct a full and thorough investigation into the actions of anyone who destroyed property, put concert-goers in danger, or committed other criminal acts,” said Constable Tania Visintin. “Though this investigation will take time, we will pursue criminal charges against people who participated in this violence and destruction.”

VPD officers were already at the venue assisting contracted security personnel as part of the normal operations for such concert events. Dozens of extra VPD officers were deployed to the PNE after the concertgoers became hostile and reinforcements were also received from TransLink’s Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

Garbage bins and food vendor kiosks were overturned and damaged, and tables, refrigerators, and tents were knocked down and thrown. Some officers had bottles and other objects thrown at them.

As of earlier this morning, the garbage that had been littered across the venue site had been largely cleaned up, but the damaged event furniture and equipment were still in place.

The cost of the damage is estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.

Cleanup after the Lil Baby riot at the PNE Amphitheatre. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

“Our first priority is for the safety and wellbeing of our staff as many were deeply affected by the reaction of guests and behaviour that ensued. We thank the Vancouver Police Department for their quick and professional response which prevented the situation from becoming much worse,” reads a statement by the PNE.

“To our neighbours — the PNE is incredibly sorry for the actions of those guests and impacts this behaviour may have had on our community.”

The PNE also notes it will be making further statements on the incident shortly, and a full investigation will be conducted.

This was Vancouver’s first riot since the Stanley Cup riot in 2011 and comes just weeks ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Guns N’ Roses riot at Rogers Arena in 2002. Concert goers broke out in a riot for the same reason, when the Guns N’ Roses suddenly cancelled their performance just before it was scheduled to begin.

For the Stanley Cup riot, the VPD conducted a years-long investigation process that collected over 5,500 hours of video footage, in addition to 30,000 photos taken by media and the general public. In total, 912 charges were made against 300 rioters, including 54 individuals that were youth at the time of the incident. The riot cost $5 million, including the cost of policing, paramedic, and healthcare response, and $2.7 million in damage to businesses.

Early this year, the PNE also suffered a major fire to buildings used for warehousing and operations. Damaged or destroyed in the blaze were about 20 vehicles, equipment, and memorabilia. At the time, investigators said the fire was suspicious in nature, caused by human activity.

Cleanup after the Lil Baby riot at the PNE Amphitheatre. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

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