Copenhagen's Black Diamond responds to party chaos claims

Queues and confusion outside the start-of-semester party for university students at the Copenhagen landmark Black Diamond, Royal Library building were due to fire regulations inside, and not due to a bottleneck at the entrance.

And there were 600 people trying to get in, not 2,000 as stated in the University Post. This is according to the Royal Library’s Black Diamond building party organisers in a letter-to-the-editor.

According to angry updates on the facebook page and sources quoted in the University Post there were thousands signed up for the event last Friday 17 September, but only one man on the door, and only one way in. This was not the case, says the Royal Library in the letter.

Doors must be closed

The Royal Library apologises in the letter and on the party’s facebook page to disappointed party-goers.

»First of all we are very sorry that a lot of people could not join the party. This was though not, as stated in the article, due to a bottleneck at the entrance, but simply due to the venue being full. As for all other public events we have a permission from the fire authorities that allows a certain amount of people in the building, and when this number is reached the doors must be closed,« writes organiser Uffe Paulsen.

On Facebook, the organisers elaborate: »We were a bit taken aback by the huge turnout, and when our megaphone broke down it was hard for us to communicate to the crowd outside the doors.«

No ‘screaming crowd’

The Black Diamond organisers estimate based on staff on the ground and from CCTV recordings is that the queue peaked at around 600 people and not, as stated in the University Post, more than 2,000.

»The closed doors and establishing of the queuing area of course led to some discussion with the party hungry students, but that did not in our experience amount to a ‘screaming crowd’, and there was generally a friendly, if lively, atmosphere,« Uffe Paulsen writes.

A police car that had randomly passed by left again immediately, seeing that the Black Diamond staff had the situation under control, he explains, adding that the Royal Library is considering pre-booking or priced tickets next year.

miy@adm.ku.dk