“Complete chaos” at Chelmsford Justin Timberlake concert as fans trapped for hours and organisers vanish online

Music fans who travelled from across Essex to see Justin Timberlake perform in Chelmsford say they were left stranded for hours in what many are now calling one of the “worst-organised concerts the county has seen“.

The Chelmsford City Live event at Chelmsford City Racecourse on Friday night descended into chaos as thousands of attendees – including fans from Southend, Rayleigh, Basildon, and further afield – became trapped in car parks until as late as 2am. Many were stuck in fields for over four hours in gridlocked traffic with no phone signal, no staff support, and no clear exit signage.

Making matters worse, the organisers have since apparently deleted their social media accounts and taken down the event website, leaving no way for angry ticketholders to get in touch.

Nicola Howlett, who attended the event, said:
“There was no traffic management, insufficient signage and no parking attendants helping people to get out. It was dangerous and they put people’s lives at risk.”

Concertgoer Sian Shepperd described the chaos she encountered:
“Anyone going to Chelmsford Racecourse this weekend, DO NOT park your car in the Blue car park! It took 3 hours to get out. Utter chaos and carnage! 3 hours to get in, 2 hours actually spent there, 3 hours in a field car park before we were finally able to leave.”

Other people described a total breakdown of organisation, with fights breaking out, staff being overwhelmed, and marshals untrained or absent.

Kelz Hall said:
“Absolute carnage trying to get out of the car park. 2 hours we have sat. In the end I walked to see why nobody was getting out and there was a young 17-year-old boy trying to control six lanes of traffic all bottlenecking at the car park gates! There was screaming, shouting and abuse being thrown all round the top car park. A total shambles — no signs for exit and everyone just sat there!”

Jill Stammers echoed the concerns:
“Getting out was an absolute shambles! It was seriously unorganised, and the poor boys/girls that had been paid to steward were completely out of their depth! There were grown men challenging them and moving the barriers.”

For those using other transport options, it wasn’t much better. Laura McLuckie said:
“The shuttle bus ‘service’ was an absolute shambles! Not enough buses, no proper queuing system, no staff to be seen.”

Some attendees left before the concert even finished in an effort to beat the chaos — but it made no difference. Chellby Newman said:
“It was an utter shambles! 2 and a half hours to get out and we had left before the end of the concert to try and avoid the queues! No staff control.”

Matt Davies warned of serious safety risks:
“Someone is going to get hurt! Terrible organisation from start to finish. All staff had no idea what they were doing. We had to take it upon ourselves to guide queuing traffic out the car park.”

There’s also growing scrutiny of the event’s approval process, with some questioning how such poor planning was allowed. Andrew Brown said:
“Whoever signed off these events should be fired. Southend United were restricted tickets to Wembley Stadium for the exact reason, but Essex Police, the council and whoever provided the risk assessment for this event clearly didn’t consider the infrastructure for such an event.”

Despite the huge backlash, there has been no statement from Chelmsford City Racecourse and no explanation from the now-disappeared organisers.

One Southend resident who attended the event told us: “We spent nearly five hours trying to get home. We came to see Justin Timberlake, not to sit in a dark field until 2am. I’ll never go back to Chelmsford Racecourse.”

With more events scheduled at the venue this weekend, pressure is mounting on local authorities and the racecourse to review safety and planning procedures — before someone does get hurt.

Your Southend has contacted Live Nation UK, who are believed to have been involved with the event, for an urgent statement.

KEY UPDATE: Along with being organised by Chelmsford City Racecourse, a live music event and promotion company called Cuffe & Taylor were involved. The company was founded in 2010 by business partners Daniel Cuffe and Peter Taylor. The company says they are “experts in promotion, production, and event management. Offering exceptional experiences for artists and audiences like no other”. The company is now part of the Live Nation UK network.

KEY UPDATE 2: Essex Police have issued a statement ahead of the further events tonight and tomorrow (Sunday). A spokesperson said: “We are aware of issues people faced leaving Chelmsford City Racecourse last night following the Justin Timberlake concert. The event organiser is responsible for the management of people entering and exiting the venue.

“We are liaising with them to resolve these issues for tonight’s event. Our officers worked to try and keep people safe, including putting in place a rolling roadblock along the A131 to manage speeds along the road.

“We will have an appropriate policing operation in place to support the event outside the venue and keep people safe on the roads and in the public space.

“We appreciate the frustration people felt last night but would ask that you avoid taking action that might put your safety at risk. Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone attending tonight.”