Editing Big Day Out (section)

==Controversy==
===Death of Jessica Michalik===
[[File:Limp Bizkit tribute during Soundwave 2012 in Melbourne.jpg|thumb|[[Limp Bizkit]]'s tribute to [[Jessica Michalik]] during the 2012 Soundwave festival]]
During the 2001 Big Day Out festival in Sydney, [[Jessica Michalik]] was crushed in a [[moshing|mosh]] pit during a performance by the band [[Limp Bizkit]].  The crush reportedly occurred as the band began playing "[[My Generation (Limp Bizkit song)|My Generation]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Hughes |first=Mark |date=April 2001 |title=Seen Live From Around the Globe This Month: Big Day Out Special |magazine=[[Metal Hammer]] |location=UK |publisher=[[Future plc]] |issue=86 |page=98 |issn=0955-1190}}</ref> The band were then cut short by medical personnel and security staff as they attempted to play {{Nowrap|"[[Re-Arranged]]"}}, after which the band took a 15-minute break before resuming their performance.<ref name=":0" /> Michalik was revived and rushed to [[Concord Repatriation General Hospital|Concord Hospital]], but died of a heart attack five days later.<ref name="silence">{{cite web |author=NME |date=5 February 2001 |title=Durst Breaks Silence |url=https://www.nme.com/news/nme/6328 |access-date=6 September 2012 |work=NME |publisher=IPC Media}}</ref>

According to a review of the band's performance by ''[[Metal Hammer]]'', Limp Bizkit's frontman, [[Fred Durst]], encouraged the crowd "to settle down" twice during the performance.<ref name=":0" /> Durst also claimed the band had attempted to take precautions that fell on deaf ears, "We begged, we screamed, we sent letters, we tried to take precautions, because we are Limp Bizkit, we know we cause this big emotional blister of a crowd". The following day, Limp Bizkit had left Australia without telling the organisers, who only discovered the band's departure through a note left at the hotel.<ref name="silence"/>

Senior deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge issued a statement saying responsibility was on the Big Day Out's promoters Creative Entertainment Australia, saying there was overwhelming evidence that crowd density was dangerous when Limp Bizkit went on stage. Limp Bizkit was also criticised in the report, Milledge saying that Durst could have taken the situation more seriously, with his comments on stage during the attempt to rescue Michalik "alarming and inflammatory".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/festivals/12980|title=Limp Bizkit Slammed Over Big Day Out Death|work=NME|access-date=18 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222012246/https://www.nme.com/news/festivals/12980|archive-date=22 February 2008}}</ref>

Michalik's parents filed separate wrongful death claims naming promoters and security personnel, and in one claim, Limp Bizkit. A New South Wales court dismissed the band and all parties connected with the band from the claim, finding they were not liable.<ref name="abc">{{cite web|title=Insurer sues Limp Bizkit over Big Day Out death|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-08-13/insurer-sues-limp-bizkit-over-big-day-out-death/2080342|work=ABC News|publisher=ABC|access-date=6 September 2012|agency=Reuters|date=13 August 2005}}</ref>

In 2005, United National Insurance sued Limp Bizkit in an attempt to avoid paying legal fees arising from Michalik's death. The company claimed in the lawsuit, which was filed on 11 August 2005, that Durst had incited the audience at the festival to rush the stage.<ref name="abc"/>

===Flag ban===
[[File:Bigdayout field.jpg|thumb|Entertainment at the 2006 Big Day Out in [[Melbourne, Australia|Melbourne]]]]
On 21 January 2007, a decision was made by the organisers to discourage Big Day Out patrons in Sydney from bringing and displaying the [[Flag of Australia|Australian flag]]. The organisers said the decision was a result of [[2005 Cronulla riots|recent ethnic tensions]] in Sydney and complaints that the previous year's festival had been marred by roving packs of aggressive flag-draped youths.<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2C53368F-CACA-48AD-AC9E-7B14E8CB75A6.htm Flag row rocks Australia concert], [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]], Retrieved 28 January 2007</ref>

Sections of the community had strong views in support of or objection to the policy. [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]], [[Premiers of New South Wales|New South Wales Premier]] [[Morris Iemma]], and [[List of Australian Opposition Leaders|Federal Leader of the Opposition]] [[Kevin Rudd]] all condemned the move. Iemma suggested the event be cancelled if the organisers could not secure the attendees' safety. Main stage act [[Jet (band)|Jet]] performed in front of a large backdrop of a black-and-white Australian flag cut-out of their name, with lead vocalist [[Nic Cester]] adding, "I can't tell anyone else what to do but we as a band are very proud to be Australian and we don't want to feel we are not allowed to feel proud".<ref>{{cite news |first=Kathy |last=McCabe |author2=Benson, Simon |title=Big Day Out flag ban sparks fury |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21096947-10388,00.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |date=22 January 2007 |access-date=22 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616172326/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0%2C23663%2C21096947-10388%2C00.html |archive-date=16 June 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Other people including [[Andrew Bartlett]] of the [[Australian Democrats]], sports writer [[Peter FitzSimons]], and members of the hip-hop outfit [[The Herd (Australian band)|The Herd]] expressed concern that the flag was being misused by a handful of aggressive attendees in a jingoist manner and that rock concerts were not the appropriate venue to be waving a flag.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21095817-5001021,00.html | title=Fly your Aussie flag | first=Luke | last=McIlveen | date=22 January 2007 | work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>

On the first day of the 2007 Sydney Big Day Out, significant numbers of patrons attended the event wearing Australian flag-related apparel or carrying Australian flags.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} No one was refused entry and no flag-related material or clothing was confiscated.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} After that date, there were no further suggestions of banning the Australian flag from Big Day Out events.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

===Drugs===
Drug use is associated with many Australian music festivals, including  Big Day Out,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=138 |title=Illicit Drug Use at Events and Venues |publisher=Drug & Alcohol Services South Australia |access-date=5 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514120844/http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=138 |archive-date=14 May 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> with anecdotal reports strongly indicating that alcohol continues to be the most prevalent drug at all events. Police have intercepted suspected users and [[Illegal drug trade|dealers]] by placing [[Detection dog|drug sniffing dogs]] at some entrances of each festival and patrolling the event (see [[New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/23/1232471574961.html|title=Big Day Out drug busts|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=5 February 2009 | date=23 January 2009}}</ref> At the 2008 festival in Sydney, police made 86 drug-related arrests. In 2009, 107 people were detained for drug violations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/jan/24/aap-more-than-100-drug-busts-at-big-day-out/|title=More than 100 drug busts at Big Day Out|publisher=Sunshine Coast Daily online|access-date=5 February 2009}}</ref> At the 2009 Perth leg of the festival tour, more than 70 arrests were charged with drug-related offences.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out teen dies of suspected drug overdose|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-02/big-day-out-teen-dies-of-suspected-drug-overdose/280384|work=ABC News|publisher=ABC|access-date=7 September 2012|author=ABC News|date=2 February 2009}}</ref>

====Death of Gemma Thoms====
At the 2009 Big Day Out festival in Perth, 17-year-old Gemma Thoms collapsed after allegedly taking three [[MDMA|ecstasy]] tablets.<ref name="Gemma">{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25012231-5001021,00.html|title=Gemma Thoms' mother speaks out|work=News.com.au|access-date=5 February 2009 | first=Glenn | last=Cordingley | date=5 February 2009}}</ref> She died 12 hours later in [[Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital]], after being transferred from the event's first-aid post.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/02/2480433.htm|title=Premier hopes teens learn from Big Day Out drug death|newspaper=ABC News|date=2 February 2009|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=5 February 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090205115031/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/02/2480433.htm| archive-date= 5 February 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> The girl and her friend reportedly took one tablet each whilst at home before the event. After arriving, she saw police near the entrance, panicked, and swallowed another two tablets.<ref name="Gemma"/> Police later denied responsibility for Thoms' death, suggesting that no sniffer dogs were being used to search patrons at the entrance she had used. They agreed that "There may have been a perceived fear of being detected". Thoms had been driven by car and had not taken the train to the station where police were searching.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25006270-5005941,00.html|title=Police deny responsibility for Gemma Thoms death at BDO|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=5 February 2009|date=4 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225143549/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0%2C%2C25006270-5005941%2C00.html|archive-date=25 February 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Beenie Man and Odd Future===
In November 2009, gay rights groups in New Zealand protested after controversial rapper [[Beenie Man]] was included in the second round of announcements for the 2010 tour. Groups such as [[GayNZ.com]] cited controversial and [[homophobic]] lyrics from Beenie Man's songs such as "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica/Come to execute all the gays". The group called for Big Day Out organisers to drop Beenie Man from the lineup "to send a message that homophobia is unacceptable", and over 850 people joined a [[Facebook]] group to oppose his appearance.<ref name="Goh">Goh, Esther (2009) "[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/music/news/article.cfm?c_id=264&objectid=10608861 Controversial anti-gay rapper to perform at Big Day Out]", '' [[The New Zealand Herald]]'', 12 November 2009</ref>

On 15 November 2009, the festival's Australian organisers issued a statement on their website confirming that Beenie Man had indeed been dropped from the lineup. Whilst they acknowledged his commitment to the 2007 [[Reggae Compassionate Act]] and his promises to not perform the offending songs on his tour, they ultimately made the decision to drop Beenie Man because they felt his appearance would "be divisive amongst our audience members and would mar the enjoyment of the event for many."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_8164.php |title=Big Day Out cancels anti-gay Beenie Man |publisher=Gaynz.com |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225122118/http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_8164.php |archive-date=25 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In early November in 2011, ahead of the 2012 Big Day Out, a request was made by [[Auckland City Council]] to remove [[OFWGKTA|Odd Future]] from line up due to some of their lyrics being allegedly homophobic. The promoters agreed, and put an Odd Future sideshow on in Auckland outside of the Big Day Out.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/odd-future-kicked-of-big-day-out-nz-lineup/ |title=Odd Future Kicked Off Big Day Out NZ Line-up|magazine=[[Music Feeds]] |date=4 November 2011 |access-date=7 May 2012}}</ref>