Aussies call out 'bad' behaviour at Summernats as wild brawl breaks out: 'No words'
Organisers have worked hard to change the culture of the controversial event held in Canberra each year.
Frustrated Aussies have called out "bad" behaviour demonstrated at the annual Summernats car festival this weekend after a wild brawl broke out between what appears to be crowd control officers and a group of revellers.
While organisers have worked hard to change the culture of the controversial event held in Canberra each year, where revheads come together to celebrate all things automobiles, the "chaos" at this year's event has sparked new fears among festivalgoers that the 30-year-long tradition may soon be "cancelled".
While most of the footage from the event shared on social media shows thousands of self-proclaimed bogans descending upon the nation's capital, proudly sporting their mullets and roaring engines with tinnies in hand, some frustrated Aussies couldn't overlook the shocking brawl that's believed to have taken place on Saturday — day three of the event.
In a series of videos that have surfaced online, a group of crowd control officers wearing pink security vests can be seen clashing with various festivalgoers who appear to taunt them, hurling abuse and even cans in their direction. Two of the clips appear to show the vest-clad men attempting to control the rowdy crowd before eventually punches are thrown.
In one video shared on reddit, a shirtless Aussie is knocked out cold after seemingly being punched in the head by one of the guards. Meanwhile, another man wearing a blue singlet appears to provoke a crowd control officer with his fists before jumping out of the way. The fight continues to escalate as it moves through the grounds.
Bad behaviour is 'ruining it for the rest of us', Aussies say
Another video taken from a distance shows the large crowd clamouring as anger boils ahead of the fight. "I have no words," the poster, an attendee, wrote on TikTok. "Sometimes the" good comes with the bad."
But the "disgusting" scenes angered many Aussies with one saying the culprits are "ruining it for the rest of us". "People don't understand this behaviour will end up getting Summernats shut down," they added.
"May very well be the nail in the coffin for the nats next year," another said on YouTube where another version of the fight was shared. One called it an "absolute sh*t show" while another dubbed it "chaos".
Police warning ahead of festival
Rowdy behaviour has long been associated with the four-day festival which has attracted controversy in previous years, particularly after the death of Luke Newsome in 2017 who fell off the back of a mate's flat-bed ute. He died later in hospital from his injuries.
Police reminded revellers at the annual Summernats car festival that hoon driving and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. Police also warned any bad behaviour would be punished, with thousands of spots in the confiscation lot ready to be filled with fast cars.
There were early reports on Saturday of crowds erupting into chant, saying "Let them go", after police reportedly escorted a car from the festival. One motorist will face court for allegedly doing burnouts and three cars were seized for hooning following day two of the Canberra event.
Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez said earlier this year the event will "undoubtedly be the biggest Summernats ever". Lopez said organisers worked closely with ACT Police, from the planning stage right through to the implementation of the event.
"As a proper street machine community, we also share their view of zero tolerance for poor behaviour on public roads," he said. "Events like Summernats are built to allow you to show off, whether registered or unregistered cart, in a safe environment.
"If you want to do burnouts do it on our burnout pad. If you want to do skids, do it on our skid row. Don’t do it on a public street."
with NCA Newswire and AAP
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