Pride Glasgow chief executive Alastair Smith is being urged to step down after a major ticketing issue left hundreds of people queuing for hours.
The Scottish city’s Pride festival took place Sunday in Kelvingrove Park following a parade, which more than 12,000 people took part in.
However, those who pre-paid for tickets were left queuing for hours outside the festival before eventually being told the event had reached its full capacity and were turned away.
A petition has since been launched calling for Smith to step down from his role at Pride Glasgow.
The Change.org petition reads: “Many people then were looking forward to the festival at Kelvingrove Park.
“Again many of them had prepaid either for the day or for the weekend plus the Steps after party. However this was not to be.
“No-one has taken responsibility for this absolute shambles of an event not even explaining to people what they will be doing to rectify this disaster.
“Someone needs to be answerable to this. I believe that the buck stops with the boss therefore I am calling for Alastair Smith to stand down as CEO of Pride Glasgow with immediate effect!”
'Chaos' at Glasgow Pride as hundreds of revellers left stranded outside Kelvingrove Parkhttps://t.co/phxFw9rYSd
— Glasgow Live (@Glasgow_Live) July 14, 2018
Within hours, the petition hit its target of 500 signatures, with just under 600 people backing the call for the Pride Glasgow boss to step down.
As of Monday afternoon, the petition has reached 820 signatures and continues to increase steadily.
Pride Glasgow’s statement read: “Glasgow Pride apologises unreservedly to those people who purchased tickets and were unable to enter the site.
“A number of media sites have covered how some revellers have been able to breech the security fence, we are working with out security team to stop any further breeches and ensure everyone who wants to has a safe Pride.”
Angry fans also lashed out on Twitter: “Tbh, refunds should be given for this. People who purchased in advance should be given priority to get into the event. I was there today, waited in the queue for a while then subsequently left as I knew I would be spending most of my day waiting. Not Happy.”
Image: Naeimasgary
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