Panic at festival in New York where Astrup spoke

New York,.Development Minister Nikolai Astrup(Norway).Photo : Pontus Höök / NTB scanpix

Thousands of people feared shots had been fired when a police barrier collapsed at a festival in New York where development minister Nikolai Astrup spoke on Saturday.

About 60,000 people were attending the Global Citizen political festival in Central Park, where,among others, Astrup of Høyre (H) spoke on Saturday night. In addition, there were several famous politicians and personalities, such as New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, Republican senator, Jeff Flake, and musical artists, Janet Jackson and John Legend.

Astrup was on stage two times during the festival. First,he talked about the Norwegian effort to seek out the ocean.As he sat behind the stage and was ready to talk again,the barrier collapsed and panic arose.

“Fortunately, it went well and nobody was hurt as far as I know,” Astrup told NTB news on Saturday night.
According to NTB’s photographer, who was in place in Central Park, they thought there was shooting when the barrier suddenly fell down, and images from the site show crying and people running.

It was quickly confirmed that there were no shots and the festival continued as normal. Astrup went back to the stage to talk about Norwegian support for maternity and child health.

 

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today