Electronic music festival Creamfields Thailand became a seated event with one day’s notice after a local police statement calling on attendees to refrain from dancing – a call that was disregarded, as footage from the two-day festival shows.
The UK-founded dance music festival Creamfields made its Thai debut in the city of Pattaya on May 28 and 29. However, on May 27, a day before the festival, local police announced that the sale and consumption of alcohol would not be allowed during the event, according to Pattaya News. On top of that, police said that festival-goers should not dance at the event.
The police announcement on Creamfields urged compliance with Chonburi Communicable Disease Committee order No. 143/2564, an official order dated December 1 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Later that day, Creamfields Thailand announced the festival would become a seated event as a COVID-19 safety measure. The statement did not address whether alcohol would be sold at the festival.
แจ้งเพื่อนๆ ชาว Creamfields Thailand ที่กำลังจะมาร่วมงานทุกท่าน 🚘เพื่อความปลอดภัยในการจัดงานภายใต้สถานการณ์ COVID-19…
Posted by Creamfields Thailand on Friday, May 27, 2022
Some took to social media to voice their disbelief at the new arrangement, with one user calling the festival a “picnic with a DJ.” Bangkok-based content publisher Shayan Naveed called the seats arranged for the festival at venue Nong Nooch Garden a “ridiculous joke”, sharing a video that compared Creamfields to the infamous Fyre Festival of 2017.
Ridiculous joke!!!!! This is the height of Amazing Thailand #creamfieldsthailand pic.twitter.com/ejmaHuQ5Yn
— Shayan | Dose of Life (@doseoflifecom) May 28, 2022
Although there is footage which showed attendees abiding by the no-dancing rule, as the festival went on, videos emerged online that showed attendees on their feet dancing along to the music, with some even holding chairs up in the air.
look how’s Creamfield TH going!! 😡 #creamfieldsthailand #Creamfields pic.twitter.com/DxRVQTTTkz
— Bunchalit (@Bunchalit) May 28, 2022
American DJ Jauz, who was on the Creamfields Thailand line-up, wrote on Twitter: “Everyone had the chairs over their heads dancing”, pronouncing the sight “so epic”.
The seated arrangement continued on day 2 of the festival, with attendee Shayan Naveed writing on Twitter: “it’s the same story. Chairs are back. We are not allowed to dance. But wait till the sun goes down and when the place is packed, they can’t stop us anymore. Sad seriously. I thought today at least would be different. Feel bad for early DJs.”
Creamfields Thailand asked everyone to sit and not dance but Calling came on 🐐
(🎥: Ratchanon Tapcha/FB) pic.twitter.com/SZlMC05Qe5
— Dancing Astronaut (@dancingastro) May 28, 2022
Creamfields Thailand Day 2
疲れたら座れるから椅子ありも悪く無いかも pic.twitter.com/1FN4qwXcwJ— каiей@？？？ (@gigaswampert) May 29, 2022
Meanwhile, at Creamfields #Pattaya….it seems the crowd has had enough of required seating and no dancing rules. pic.twitter.com/LEwkDAWj1D
— The Pattaya News/TPN Media (@The_PattayaNews) May 28, 2022
NME has reached out to Creamfields and a representative for Live Nation Electronic Asia, one of the companies behind the Thai festival, for comment.
Creamfields in Pattaya marked the long-running UK festival’s debut in Thailand after previous Asia editions in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. In order to have attended the festival, attendees had to be over the age of 20 and be fully vaccinated with a negative Antigen Test Kit or RT-PCR test result. One of its headliners, Dutch DJ Fedde Le Grand, cancelled his set a day before the festival after testing positive for COVID-19.
Besides Creamfields, other festivals happening this year in Thailand include Kolour In The Park and POW Fest. Maho Rasop Festival will also return in November.