Music lovers heading to the largest music festival to be held in Dundee for more than a decade have been banned from bringing large bags on site.
Near 12,000 visitors will visit Carnival 56 at Camperdown park at the weekend for a two-day music festival featuring music giants including Mark Ronson and The Charlatans.
Attendees are being asked not to bring bags measuring more than 35 cm long, 40 cm wide and 19 cm high – ruling out many popular shoulder handbags.
Popular English music festivals British Summer Time in Hyde Park and Common People festival in Southampton and Oxford adopt similar restrictions, as do major music venues including the Hydro and O2 arenas in Glasgow and London.
Bottled water with a volume of 500 ml will be allowed to be brought on to the festival site, but only if it is sealed.
Organisers also asked for people to avoid bringing rucksacks with multiple compartments, as it could lead to delays due to the requirement for further searches.
The festival’s event manager, Steve Reynolds, said the bag size restrictions were a common industry practice and would speed up security checks when the gates open Saturday.
He said: “By keeping the bags to a reasonable size, it allows the security to search them properly while keeping the queues moving at the main entrance so everyone gets in quickly.
“We have used this size at other events across the summer and although there’s a slight variance of a couple of centimetres on the dimensions, it is common practice. These include British Summer Time Hyde Park and the Common People festivals.
“They are also similar to the sizes used at the Hydro, Wembley Arena and the O2 in London as well as other arenas and stadia.
“It is the size of a day backpack so a reasonable size of rucksack for people to bring to a day show. This gives them ample room to fit in their jacket, plastic bottle of water – sealed and under 500ml – and a few items of their choice.”
Carnival 56 kicks off on Saturday August 12 and will feature international acts, as well as local bands including Fat Goth, The Kyle Falconer Band and The Mirror Trap.
The two-day event will be the first music festival held in the city since the Radio One Big Weekend, which took place in Camperdown Park in May 2006.
