Sunday saw the third and final sell-out concert by Robbie Williams at Knebworth. Friday's gig was marred by heavy traffic - which prevented some fans from seeing the concert - and congested car parks.
On Saturday night, some people left the gig early claiming the venue was overcrowded and the view was poor. By the end of the weekend Robbie Williams will have played to 375,000 people - the biggest event in UK music history.
Read your experiences of the traffic, the crowds and of course the show itself.
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received:
Robbie's Sunday gig was great! I was one of the lucky few who managed to get a front seat. The first 3000 were given arm bands and were allowed in and out of the front section, and we had a great view of Robbie! It was a long day though - I left home at 05.30, and arrived home at 01:45! Robbie was fun, and exciting and the stage was fabulous. Mark Owen (Take That!) gave a surprise appearance, and we got a glimpse of Ant and Dec before the gig started. Enjoyed!
Alison Maddrell, Addlestone, Surrey, UK We went on Saturday and I have one word to describe it, GREED. I have seen Robbie before, been to every festival this country has to offer over the years and this was not about giving a good show, this was about money. They clearly did not give a hoot if you could see the stage. I paid �35.00 to watch him on a giant TV. As a result I have vowed I will never pay to see him again.
Helen, UK
I thought Robbie was absolutely amazing. Yes, the car park situation was a bit of a nightmare but come on, what do people expect? I would do it all over again. What a great day!! Well done Rob.
Lisa, England
We went to see Robbie on Sunday. The concert was absolutely amazing and being a part of something with that many people was a fantastic feeling. It did however take us 5 hours from arriving to getting a place to sit. There seemed to be no official personnel anywhere - the only official concert stewards to be seen were the ones taking the money in the car park and collecting the tickets. No walkways in the actual arena made moving around a sham, and if anything had happened that number of people would have caused a disaster much worse than Hillsborough. Leaving the arena was a nightmare too. Good concert, but incredibly poor organisation.
Rachel, England
To those people who have written and chastised people for not leaving early enough to get to see the stage, can I say that they have missed the point. People are complaining about the fact that the organisers let 125,000 people into a venue that will only allow 80,000 or so to see the stage. They should never have been allowed to sell that many tickets, or at the very least, the tickets should have a disclaimer on them about the fact that some views are restricted. I can understand the problems with getting out, it's a massive operation and you must go with the knowledge that you are going to have a long wait. But the fact remains that the organisers should not have been able to sell that many tickets to a venue which is clearly not suitable for that many people. I will never ever go to Knebworth again. Sorry Rob, but not even for you. You gave us the performance of your life, it's a shame so many people missed it.
Joe, Norwich, Norfolk, England So there were traffic jams and some people had a poor view?! What were they expecting front row seats and valet parking? If you don't like inconvenience associated with 110,000 people converging on one place at the same time and a few hours sat in your car, stay at home next time and watch Fame Academy.
Jon, England
We attended the Sunday night gig, well when I say attended I mean we got there but that was as far as we got. We didn't mind the 3 hour traffic jams or the 3 mile walk to get to Knebworth house we took all of that in our stride as part of the gig. What we did mind was the fact that we were unable to get the field to see the show. At 3pm the field was already full and it was impossible to get in anywhere and believe me we looked. By 7pm there were still people pouring though the gates and there was no sign of it letting up. It was at this point that myself and about 20 other people decided to leave as we didn't enjoy sitting in an outside field being trodden on. After waiting so long for this show I came away feeling very let down and it is not something I will be repeating in the future.
Emma Edwards, England
I took my two teenagers to the Sunday gig. I watched the spokesman for Knebworth and the Hertfordshire police on the local BBC news and totally disagree with what they said. In fact I feel extremely angry with the complacency and patronising tone of the Knebworth spokesman. Knebworth could not cope with the number of people! It was dangerous! The saving factor of the day was the fans mature attitude and calm manner. We were expected to enter and leave the arena through one narrow walkway. On clearing the concert area pedestrians were prevented flowing safely by narrow gateways. One woman fainted the fans had to demand help. It was slow in coming. Many people were relegated to watching the show from behind the catering vans. The view was unacceptable. There was little evidence of marshalling and security. The car park was a nightmare on exit. It was a free for all - all the stewards that had guided us in had gone! Links to the AI which should have then been opened were closed off. For �38.50 each it was a nightmare. My message to Robbie Williams is we are your fans we look after you by buying your cd's and giving you respect as a brilliant entertainer please look after us too!
Janet Hoyer, U.K.
Robbie was amazing and totally at the top of his game, long may it continue! I am sick of reading about all these people moaning about the parking and the organisation over the fact that we saw over 2 hours of pure brilliance. OK, so there were problems, but what do people expect with an event of this magnitude, nobody was killed, we just had to wait a few hours to get home, but at least we got there. Waiting to get out of the car parks is a small sacrifice for seeing the event of my life. Robbie you rocked my world - can't wait until you do it again!
Paula, Reading, UK
The August 2nd Robbie gig at Knebworth had me scared for me life. The mass overcrowding forced me into a crushed circle where I could not move even my shoulder for 15 minutes. I had never felt so panicked in my life. I am furious that after buying my tickets the first day on sale over 9 months ago, I had to listen from between a tree line on the side of the venue as it was the only place I felt safe. One small incident would have sparked a serious disaster. The promoters should be seriously reprimanded for allowing it to get to such a state. Robbie owes me another gig where I have a guaranteed seat. I am very disappointed.
Dave P, UK
 |  Brilliant concert but potential for disaster was never far from our thoughts  |
I can't fault Robbie - he was a fantastic performer - brilliant stage presence and it was the best concert I've ever been to. However, the organisation was a complete joke - if anyone had been ill in the main field, they would have had no chance of getting out alive and if tempers had flared then all hell would have broken loose! No sign of any police/stewards apart from one or two on the way out, trying to cope with the masses. We slept in the car until 3am then got stuck for an hour on the A1M and finally arrived home at 4.30am. Brilliant concert but potential for disaster was never far from our thoughts.
Ali Robbins, Harrow, UK I can't believe how lucky my friend and I were. We arrived at 11am, managed to get into the "pits" and had a fantastic view, left at the end and was home in Northampton just after 1pm - no problems. The concert itself was absolutely brilliant, I am still on a high from Saturday, Robbie is a "born entertainer" and everyone around us were chuffed to bits at being so close. Fantastic!
Rachel Mortimer, England
Robb was excellent, event organisation was utter disgrace and where were the health and safety inspectors? You can't tell me that was the best of British crowd control! There is no excuse for that fiasco. Can't comment on Fri & Sun but Sat was horrendous at the back. I left my pregnant girlfriend to go 10 yards for a drink and couldn't physically get back to her for 45 minutes because of the absolute sheer gridlock of people separating us. Robb didn't disappoint though shame some of the enjoyment was marred by the organisers' greed. Don't be so greedy next time.
lee, Staffordshire
| We stood right at the back and still felt like battery hens |
Robbie William's concert on Sunday was a disgrace. We stood right at the back and still felt like battery hens. We could not even see a tiny figure on stage. Moby was the highlight-Robbie's standard of performance did not come close. We left at 9:30 because of the overcrowding.
Sandra Worsley, England Last nights Robbie gig has to be noted as one of the best concerts ever. Not only did he sing amazingly, he was funny, sexy and incredibly addictive. I for one could not take my eyes of him, be it on the big screens or watching him from on stage as a 1 inch high dot! The atmosphere was electrifying and everyone I could see around me was having a brilliant time. And when Robbie cried my eyes also welled! Thank you Robbie, for a night I will never forget.
Emily Beaumont, England
Definitely the worst experience I have ever had at a gig in my life. It was so overcrowded that my friends and I ended up watching the gig in one of the side fields on a screen. All in all a very miserable evening.
Jo, UK
What a brilliant concert!! We got there in 40 mins., the police had it all organised! Getting out and home did take 4 hours but what do you expect! Everyone there knew they were part of 125,000 strong crowd, how could you expect just to walk or drive out with no problem? The concert was far better than the organisation was bad
Erica, Herts
Ripped off by Robbie! A strong statement maybe but having not managed to get a sight of the stage let alone the man himself I think it is valid. From listening and what I saw on a screen he was good - but not great. All a little too contrived - bringing Mum on, his mate Max, people in the crowd. Its been done before and done better.
Kevin, UK
| Great Entertainment - but far too many people |
Great Concert. Great Music. Great Entertainment - but far too many people - if there had been an incident at the top the main field - the concert would have been the biggest crush in UK music history. We were there at 11.30 am - by 1400 - the place was full!! By 1700 - it was beyond capacity. Also - how much extra does it cost to have traffic marshals at the end of the concert???
Will O, UK We went to Knebworth on Saturday. We were disgusted at some of the organisation. It was a very hot day, and very difficult to get around inside the park, but nobody was allowed to take in more than a 1L bottles of water. If you tried to take in a 2L bottle of water, it was confiscated. Also, the control inside the park was terrible: there were people insisting on sitting on the ground just a few feet away from the food vendors, meaning the crowds had to squeeze through a tiny gap, causing absolute gridlock. Those people should have been moved on by security staff. We had a good day, but I wish the organisers had been forced to put health and safety above profit.
R Griffiths, UK
What an amazing concert - the best I have seen him do. I was there on Friday and didn't get out of the car park until 3am but this was to be expected as there were 125,000 people to get out!!! As for those who didn't get into the concert in time - what time did you leave to get there? The gates opened at midday and Robbie didn't start until 8.30pm so surely there was more than enough time to get there???? Robbie was amazing and I can't wait till his next set of concerts!
Clare Foster, England
We missed the first two acts queuing to get in. Got in and found just enough space to sit the two of us on one bin bag! Robbie was fantastic and the concert sounded great but we couldn't see Robbie on the stage, only on the big screen. We didn't know the stage layout until we saw the pictures in the paper the following day. The organisation was dreadful and there were far too many people there. It took us over 4 hours to get out of the car park and we were one of the lucky ones. Thank god there wasn't a disaster or a major emergency.
Becca, UK
I do not usually have positive things to say about the UK. In my view, nothing, ever, works here properly and hence I had very, very, very low expectations about the organisation of the RW concert. To my astonishment, we all had a wonderful experience: the trains left on time and were not overcrowded, we found a good spot in Knebworth Park form where we could see the stage and a screen nearby, everyone was friendly and enjoying themselves, the facilities (toilets) were plentiful, the atmosphere was relaxed, the music was magnificent and it seemed that 135,000 people were having a great time. The way back to the train station was slow but peaceful and we got on a train to London after only 15 minutes wait. It was the complete contrary of my usual day-to-day experience of living in London.
Stephan, Germany / UK
As a nearby resident, I did not want this concert, and remain convinced it should not have happened. Our weekend was miserable.
Philip, Knebworth, Hertfordshire
| My husband who accompanied me out of kindness came away a true Robbie fan! |
Went to Saturday's show - arrived early and parked in Stevenage itself. It was well worth the few minutes extra walk to be able to drive off immediately with no queuing! As for the event itself - this is my first big event and I was blown away by the atmosphere and the show. Robbie was quite simply a born entertainer and my husband who accompanied me out of kindness came away a true Robbie fan! We staked our claim with a picnic blanket at 1pm and had plenty of space to hang out and enjoy the sunshine and supporting bands. We were about 1/4 of the way back right in front of the stage and had a great view - even though I am only 5 foot 2 I could see the whole of the stage which was amazing!! I am stunned to see so many bad comments about the show - it was truly the best event I have ever been to!! There was no overcrowding in our area and everyone was just there to have a great time - and was really considerate towards each other.
Helen Cooper, London
I am sick of celebrities earning obscene amounts of money and caring little for their fans. I am glad that I did not waste my time or money on RW. We are all being conned by the pseudo culture that is in our faces every day. Be it Beckham or Williams it's all the same. To all those poor fans who suffered such a poor deal at Knebworth I say next time don't bother.
Roz Mercer, UK
The 2 hours that Robbie was on were absolutely fantastic. But unfortunately this was completely overshadowed by sitting in the heat for 8 hours with far too many people, a stream of rubbish, no officials organising or reassuring you that a disaster wasn't about to happen any minute. And then the 4.5 hours in the car park afterwards getting home at 5.00 this morning relieved to be in one piece adamant that we are never going to Knebworth again!
Trudi Thornton-allen, UK
I went to Knebworth on Saturday, I left Shropshire at 1140 and arrived in Stevenage at 1415. We paid �10 and parked in one of the small independent car parks a mile down the road from the venue. We were inside Knebworth by 1500 and had great day with a clear view of the stage. Robbie was brilliant, as were Moby. After the show had finished we walked back the car, drove home and were in bed for 0300. I can't see what all the moaning is about. It was advertised as the biggest music event in history, some people appear to have been expecting a Sunday school outing! Top tip - Don't park on site.
Ian B, England
| Rob is great but sorely let down by the organisers |
As always the man was amazing and electrifying, however the organisation of the venue was terrible. We could barely see the screen and could hardly hear him. I think Rob is great but sorely let down by the organisers. We left the venue early so we could get out of the car park only to find a leaflet to say we couldn't leave until 12.00 perhaps they should have told us before we went in and we could have stayed!. Don't worry Rob I will come and see you again just not at Kenbworth.
Chis Lee, England I went to see Robbie on Saturday night, I have just been reading all the fans moaning about the crowds and organisation at Knebworth, what did they expect? It is not a purpose built concert hall we all knew how many people would be there! We stood about a third of the way back by the first big screen and could see the stage although Robbie was tiny. I wasn't pushed once and all the people around us were lovely. However when I went to the toilets all I could hear were people complaining about everything, these were the people who spoilt it for me! It took us 3 1/2 hours from the end of the concert to get out of the car park but this didn't spoil the fantastic time we had. Robbie was a star!
Nicola Whitehead, UK
I arrived home (Sutton, Surrey) at 5.30 am this morning. There was no organisation at the RW concert, the facilities were disgusting, the only visible stewards were manning exits, there was no evidence of a police presence. There was a definite health and safety issue with overcrowding and no crowd control. The stage was sunk so low and visible to few and I barely managed to catch sight of RW on a small screen. To top is all I spent 4 and half hours imprisoned in the car park and then a further hour crawling home on the A1 feeling exhausted and completely cheated. Call that a concert? By 5.30 am this morning when I finally arrived home I felt I had been to hell and back. Enjoy your millions Robbie at the expense of the poor fans who made the effort to come and see you. But beware, I don't think you will have too many takers in the future.
Joanne Smith, UK
I can't believe that the amazing show that was put on by Robbie is being overshadowed by moans on traffic and queues. If you don't like queuing and you don't like traffic in future don't buy tickets for events that host 125,000 people! I had a top time , the show was amazing and as I expected lots of people were there, I hope he does another gig like this in the next couple of years!
Sam, Bedford
I was last at Knebworth some 16 years ago. I vowed I would never go back, but the lure of RW was too much, and I thought that after 16 years, the organisation must have improved. How wrong I was! I can accept being stuck in the car park for 4 hours; what I can't accept is not being able to see any part of the stage, and struggling to see a screen even. It was only after watching a recording of the Channel 4 presentation that I could see the setup of the stage. Of course, RW was the superstar we all know he is, but I'm sorry, not even he can ever take me back to Knebworth. It really is a truly awful venue.
Kate T., UK
| The only way to appreciate how good he is was to be there live |
We left Brighton just after 0915 on Friday, got to Knebworth by 1120 and were in the queue for the gates by 1140. It was a long wait and a long old day but well worth it. Robbie was absolutely fantastic and seeing Moby was a bonus. Those people who are moaning because they didn't leave early enough to get there for the gates opening at noon, well what do you really expect? It was well publicised that this was the biggest event Knebworth had seen with 125,000 people expected each day. The big fat downer of course was the 6 hour wait to get out of the car park meaning we didn't get home until 0645 on Saturday morning but like many others we did the sensible thing and got our heads down for a few hours. The concert was the best I have ever been to, and like many others I sat at home on Saturday night watching it on TV thinking how much better he had performed on Friday night and that the only way to appreciate how good he is was to be there live.
Elaine, UK Any local could have foreseen the problems, except the police it seems. I'm quite happy to put up with booming noise for a few evenings but the Friday show shouldn't have been allowed. The A1M North is like a car park between junction 6 & 7 at the best of times on a Friday afternoon. Knebworth just doesn't have sufficient main roads to cater for these big events and it's not fair that businesses and non-show traffic should have to be inconvenienced to such a degree.
Steve Thomas, England,
I made my way from Romford probably about 25 - 30 miles, got in at 10am, waited about in the cat till 3pm when the show started there was no where to sit let alone stand, no shade too many people not enough toilets, �1.50 for a bottle of water, did not see the stage as we could not get close enough, left half way through Robbie's set. Never again Oh and Kelly Osbourne was a disgrace.
Bob, UK
After this fiasco, we have decided that events like these are not for us. Facilities and planning were appalling. People seem to have forgotten that they shelled out over �40 for the event although many ended up ended up dangerously crushed and unable to see it. We are thoroughly sick of greedy promoters who imagine that the public will put up with any amount of discomfort just to see a top act.
Jake S, London, UK
We left home at 8.15am, got parked by 10am, gates opened 11.30ish , got to the front section , sat down relaxed and waited for the mighty Darkness - how good were they?. Kelly Osbourne not that good, Ash an entertaining if not sparkling set. Moby got the crowd going and Mr Williams was awesome. Got back to the car park at midnight out of the car park by 2pm , on the A1 by 2.45am and home 2 hours later. A very long day - but well worth it!
Chris Bull, Nottingham , England
We had tickets for Saturday's show and had no problem getting into the venue at 12pm. We were a bit peeved that we paid for parking in advance. Fees on the day worked out at less! The day couldn't have been better, the sun was out, the acts were great, the crowd was amazing and it was very special to be part of it, we felt Robbie's emotion and were mesmerised by his performance, even though he was the size of a matchstick. It would have been better to section the crowd to have proper walkways to save fingers and spillages. Greedy organisers! We were told cars would have to wait an hour before moving to let the pedestrians through - no problem, we had been warned. We were not however prepared for a 5� hour wait. We eventually got out of our car park at 3.45am! We felt the pinch of being up for close to 24 hours. We had a 5 hour drive back home as we forfeited our hotel booking as there was no point for 4 hours!
The car park situation was like cattle being herded by themselves, the radio station only told us to be patient. We were able to use the toilets but the food bars started closing down fairly early. We saw no stewards until we were at the exit and the traffic of cars was chaos! Where was the traffic management plan we had been assured of?
Vicky, Morecambe, UK
What a fantastic event on Friday, unfortunately it was completely over shadowed by the shambles after the fireworks. The Knebworth organisers and local police should hold their heads in shame as if that's the best plan they could come up with, with over six months planning not a single one of them should be in a job right now! Like the rest of folks there, it took us 5 hours to do a twenty minute journey home!
RAP, UK
The man himself put on an amazing show on Saturday but I was more overwhelmed by the greed of the event's promoters. There were far, far too many people in there. Two thirds of the crowd could not even see the stage and at times the crush to move around the arena was frightening. Lots of scared children and very frustrated Robbie fans. If the organisers had the resources to apply Nazi-like policing to stop people bringing in picnics and soft drinks (no doubt to encourage you to spend even more money) then why couldn't they put a bit more thought into the logistics? While a hassle-free token system was in place to help you spend money in their bars, the same could not be said for getting out of the place. I gave up my futile attempts to get out of the car park, turned off the engine and went to sleep for an hour or so until we were finally able to leave the site at 1.30am on Sunday. As a regular concert and festival-goer I am very sad to say that I will never go back to Knebworth or attend an event like this again. The organisers should be ashamed of themselves.
Kerry McQueeney, London, UK
We are two women coming all the way from Copenhagen to see Robbie on Saturday night (we arrived in London on Friday). We arrived at Knebworth around 1 o'clock and even then we could not get a place where we could see the stage. Around 7 o'clock the place was so packed, people were stepping over us constantly - there was absolutely no place to move. Thinking about the unfortunate accident at our own local Roskilde Festival a couple of years ago we left - dreading to be leaving at the same time as at least 135,000 people - the officials on the way out told us that this amount of people had already entered and people kept pouring in. We left together with loads of English and Dutch fans and we were so disappointed. At least it was no problem getting on the train in Stevenage and back to London. We love you Robbie - but it was really frightening! Love Lone and AnneMette
Lone Fayers, Denmark
Was at the concert on Saturday and had been warned off the problems getting out of the car parks by a friend who went on Friday. It took us until 2.30am to finally leave but I'm not bothered as the wait was worth it because the gig was so good. I've been to loads of gigs at places like Wembley and Milton Keynes and the traffic out of them has always been bad - I guess its something you expect when there's that many people there. As far as safety inside the arena, we were about a third of the way back from the stage and we didn't see any problems. It was packed but not dangerous and everyone was friendly and helpful making sure people were okay.
Graham, England
Surely the most over-rated man in pop history. I cannot for the life of me understand the hysteria. His voice just can't cut it on a live performance and I thought the whole thing was way over-rated. Thank heavens for the sometimes excellent support.
Phil A, UK
He blew us away! And reading all the negative comments really disappoints me! We got there at 12 got let in by 12.30 and loved the show and had no trouble getting out and getting home!! Rob u rocked our world.
Alison, England
We travelled to the concert by train as it seemed obvious there'd be traffic and parking problems and, even though we had to walk about two miles to the venue had no complaints. Although we sat near the back of the venue we had a clear view of two screens. There was no trouble, and certainly no evidence of any crushing. Coming home we managed to get a train within 15 minutes of arriving at the station due to the extra trains laid on. All in all it was a great day. Thanks Robbie!
Claire, UK
I think some people need to stop whinging about this event! People who didn't get in on time (or at all) should have left earlier. Those who complain of being too far back from the stage should have been there earlier. Why should people roll up an hour before the gig and get as good a place as those who've been standing there for 8 hours? Yes, it took too long to get out, but surely most people expected that? Maybe a few people should attend bigger events such as Glastonbury, it might teach them some common sense and patience!
Jen, England
The concert stewards had everything under control on Friday on arrival at Knebworth. However, by the end of the evening they were nowhere to be seen. Fans were squashed against fences trying to get out and the exits seemed to have been narrowed from earlier in the day. A complete free-for-all in the car parks 4 hours later when things started to move and the grand total of three stewards counting cars out of the site. A fantastic show by the Robster but if he ever plays Knebworth again, the memory of the car park chaos will stop many fans returning.
Rosalind, Reading, UK
| A brilliant Friday all round - if lengthy |
Isn't a pity? That after such an electrifying performance from Robbie, that the main subject on everybody's lips is the traffic and car parking? Route-master is a wonderful thing. We left Wolverhampton at 10:15 am on Friday morning and by 1:30pm (after going through the back streets!) we were settled near a barrier waiting for the first act.
Nathan Lloyd, UK A brilliant Friday all round - if lengthy. Part of having a banquet is the preparation, not just the scoffing ...
Mala, Kent
This has been billed as the biggest event staged at Knebworth and clearly it is also the biggest shambles. By 6pm on Saturday night it was clear that there was no way you could even stand 'at the back' and watch on the screens. You would be lucky to sit amongst the food and merchandise stores, behind the trees and maybe just maybe hear what was going on. I certainly had trouble hearing Moby, yet alone fighting to get a view where I could see. This is a venue that has been overpacked without the security to go with it. I just hope that no-ne gets hurt. The poor girls at the information tent could not write out the address to complain to quick enough!! We left at 7.30 with many other disgusted fans.
Terri Lawson, England
| Well done to The Darkness, Ash and Moby for excellent support sets...and of course, the man himself for making the whole day memorable |
We arrived at the concert at around 4pm, getting in the venue and parking was fine. When entering the area of music, we walked around and the place was full already. We struggled finding a place for three to sit. All afternoon spent in an area we could not see the stage and barely see a tv screen. Having said that Robbie was brilliant. We could hear him although the sound quality at the back was not worth paying �120 for three tickets for. I definately would not go to Knebworth again. This is the third time I have seen Robbie, his concerts are now too big. The facilities and management at Knebworth especially crowd management were dreadful. Three times during the event I feared for our safety. Numbers should definitely be restricted.
Heather Burfitt, UK Am I being dim? If the majority of the 125,000 people at the concert only get to see it on large TV screens (which is the reality at most stadium gigs anyway) why not just watch it on telly, or have a big gig screen somewhere near a large car park?
Rupert Graves, UK
What are people complaining about? If you leave for a gig of this size after the gates have opened, you're asking for trouble, or maybe it seems obvious to me because I go to festivals all the time. I travelled from Manchester, my sister from North Devon. We left home at 6.30am and 5am, and made it to the gig at 11am to be (almost) at the front of the queue...it was a long day, but well worth it. Well done to The Darkness, Ash and Moby for excellent support sets...and of course, the man himself for making the whole day memorable...
Kevin, UK
The concert was fantastic, but why blame Robbie Williams for it? It wasn't as if it was him who failed to ensure that the logistics of the event were organised. It was the local council and Knebworth owners. I'm sure they got a lot of money for him to play there.
Ruth , UK
There is no way on Earth you can really organise 100,000 plus people all leaving a venue en masse. Public transport doesn't run that late, so most people go by car, so you will just have to expect delays, unfortunate though that is. Either that or just pitch a tent next to the stage and stay the night !!
Martin - Telford, England
| I'm definitely complaining to the promoters - this is a clear case of greed over common sense |
I live in cambridge and I got home at 5.50am, so yes, the parking could have been better organised and those people who didn't get to the concert on time.....leave earlier next time. It was one hell of a night on Friday, one of the best, to be part of history was amazing. Well done Rob!!!
Elizabeth Collinson, Cambridge I have just arrived back home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire from Saturday's gig at 5.30am - this I expected! What I did not expect was not being able to see the stage from inside the venue!! We arrived at Knebworth at 4.30pm and it was immediately obvious that the gig was over capacity. I have been going to gigs very regularly for over 20 years and have been to many, many outdoor shows including U2 at Roundhay Park in Leeds and Queen at Wembley Stadium and I have genuinely never seen anything so ridiculous before. I would guess that at least 10,000 people had NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER of being able to see the stage. I'm definitely complaining to the promoters - this is a clear case of greed over common sense.
Huw Lynd-Evans, UK
| It doesn't take a genius to work out that a handful of local roads won't be able to handle the traffic |
In my eyes, the responsibility lies entirely with the event promoters. It strikes me as being utterly irresponsible of them to organise an event at a venue where the transportation infrastructure simply cannot handle all of the concert-goers. They should have had more punitive car parking charges (�20?) to encourage car sharing, and should have worked with the rail companies to provide a subsidised, or 'at cost' service. They should probably also consider having a park and ride system for future events, to ease the pressure on local roads. It doesn't take a genius to work out that a handful of local roads won't be able to handle the traffic.
Mark, UK How on earth can we hold the Olympic Games if traffic and poor organisation problems like this exist? I didn't even bother trying to get tickets as I knew the venue would have been a nightmare. We need better and more accessible concert facilities in this country. Don't play Knebworth again Robbie. Stick with the football stadiums!!
Robbie fan, Kent, England
I tried to go to the Robbie Williams concert on Friday evening and like many thousands of others listened to the concert from the hard shoulder of the A1(M). I do not accept that we left it too late to get to the concert. It took us 3 and a half hours to travel just 3 miles in the run up to junction 7 (northbound), clearly due to inefficient routing of traffic. This was 2 hours before Robbie Williams was due on stage, so it was not last minute and we had planned to arrive early. I cannot believe that with 125,000 tickets sold, adequate plans were not put in place to cope with the projected volume of traffic.
Sally Redvers, UK
My girlfriend and I needed to catch the last train back to Southend at 12:22 from Liverpool Street station, so we decided beforehand that we would leave at ten, half an hour before the end in order to avoid sleeping on a station. We both got so caught up in the performance that we stayed to the end, but left right after the encores. We avoided most of the crowds and after almost fainting at discovering that there was a 4 minute wait for a underground train, and running across Kings Cross, we made the last train literally as the doors were closing!! Robbie was great but Moby was also awesome, and I was well pleased after missing him at Glastonbury!!
Richard Murray, Sussex, England If you had travel problems, blame the local council who licensed the event and the organisers who sold too many tickets, NOT the police. Some police officers have worked 19 hour days to try and get people safely into the concert. Car park space quite simply ran out - that has to be down to the organisers!
Katie Foster, UK
How about some common sense? Leave early to arrive early. If you're going to be competing with 125,000 other people all travelling at the same time it isn't going to be like getting out of the supermarket car park.
CSay, UK
| Many years of visiting numerous large events tells me to use common sense |
I left my home at 17.30. Drove to Knebworth (10 miles away), parked half a mile from the venue and was inside having eaten and found a good spot to watch Moby by 18.30. I left after Robbie finished. Walked with the throng to my car and was back home by 23.30. I have lots of sympathy for those caught up but many years of visiting numerous large events tells me to use common sense. Football matches, big concerts and motoring events all have the same problems. Don't complain after the event. Just think about how you didn't plan better yourself. By the way, Robbie was amazing.
B. Binky, UK After watching a Robbie Williams concert, surely five hours sitting in a car park would be an entertaining experience.
Scott, UK
I recall the exact same problem trying to get to Knebworth for Pink Floyd in August of 1975!!! There is no excusing the chaos. 30 years on and still no adequate organisation.
Scott MacKie, UK
I and 4 other nurses left Wirral at 10.30am Friday to see Robbie at Knebworth. We arrived at Stevenage at 14.45. We didn't get in! We sat in gridlocked traffic surrounded by thousands of others, children crying, disappointment and anger. There was no rush hour traffic at 3pm and 10 hours is sufficient time. It was an organisational disgrace, to blame ticket holders. People in the concert said at 16.30hrs people were unable to get into the event and stood outside.
Mrs A. Miskell, Britain
| Shame my lasting memory is off sitting in a car park until 4am and having to come to work today!! |
This was by far his best ever performance. The atmosphere was electric and he had us all in tears and saying "ahhh" when he picked out a couple from the audience who had been married for 10 years and dedicated "She's the one" to them (and gave the woman his jacket)!!. Shame my lasting memory is off sitting in a car park until 4am and having to come to work today!!
Sonya Lowe, UK As a local I can only say that it didn't take much intelligence to realise that having a concert on a Friday close to a road that cannot handle rush hour traffic time was stupid. I just hope Robbie spends the takings well from the concert and has a least a little thought for all those fans who didn't make it. Also I think Lord Cobbold, owner of Knebworth estate should compensate not only the locals for the chaos but also admit that Knebworth is not worthy of the reputation it has until it can handle a concert of this magnitude.
Richard Sutherland, England
I am a truck driver, and had to make a delivery to a shop in Letchworth (at the top of the A1-M) in mid-afternoon on the day of the gig. I passed over the motorway at junction 9 and saw solid traffic heading south. Later on I saw heavy traffic on the A505 and approaches to South Mimms were at a standstill. My journey back to north London was extended by at least an hour. People told me in Letchworth that all of this was down to Robbie Williams, and I'm shocked that they let a pop gig cause all this disruption. In future they should not provide car parking spaces, and make it clear to people that if they want to come, to use public transport or arrange coaches.
Matthew Smith, UK
As a local to the area as well as a Robbie fan it seems somewhat bizarre that the police and council can cause so much chaos for local residents AND fans travelling in from a distance - you would think that they'd get at least one of the two right... I'm planning on going to the Sunday performance - based on this report I think I might walk!
Howard Gregory, Herts, UK We travelled by train and had no problems getting to the concert. The signposting was appalling leaving the concert and we hardly saw any stewards or police apart from on the roundabouts. At one stage a girl fainted in the queue but there were no stewards or police in the vicinity. Fortunately there were a couple of first aiders in the queue who assisted. The organisation by WAGN at the station was good. We got home to Peterborough at 2.45am. The police had really not thought through the logistics of 125,000 attending this concert and they should apologise. Robbie was awesome!
Michele Savage, UK
I went to the Friday gig on my pedal bike from my home about 8 miles away. I didn't see anyone else doing likewise, though perhaps a few did. Quick to get in, and very fast to get home.
Arthur, UK
| We arrived in good time and were back home by 2am |
Anyone not expecting some hassle when the equivalent of half Brighton's population is trying to move at the same time needs to get real. Because of this, we travelled by organised coach from Brighton to the concert. We arrived in good time and were back home by 2am.
Pete Sov, UK The management of traffic to and from a pop concert is not the responsibility of the police - and it should never be. If the organisers are unable to provide satisfactory traffic arrangements the event should not be licensed. The problems at the Robbie Williams concert sit squarely with the organisers and local authority. I do not pay my council tax to see officers directing traffic at profit making events!
David Griffiths, England
Sorry to say, I left at the encores with the first 10,000 and sprinted for the car park and saw the traffic parked on the A1 at 10.15. Managed to get to the other car park 35 minutes away and was about the 5th out leaving 30,000+ cars left. But boy, what a great show! I was home in 45 minutes. Sorry folks to the rest of you who weren't so lucky.
Rob, UK
| Shame about the chaos leaving the park after the concert |
I agree you need to leave early. We all knew the car park opened at 9 and gates at 12 so why leave so late? We were there from about 10:30 and had no probs with traffic. Shame about the chaos leaving the park after the concert and the total lack of planning to get the cars out of the car parks after the show, it put a dampener on what was a stunning performance by all the acts.
Kate, UK We left Kent at 1.30 to make the concert, thinking we were leaving plenty of time but still didn't get to Knebworth until 9pm and so missed half the concert. The half we did see was very good. However the general organisation at the venue and the surrounding area was appalling there were very few signs or signals regarding traffic alterations or parking etc and it seems that no-one, not even Knebworth was really prepared for or capable of dealing with 125000 people.
Becky, UK
The concert was fantastic, but waiting around for 5 hours to get out of a car park was ridiculous something needs to be done. A tip for anyone going to the next few, don't bother leaving early to get to the front as only VIPs were allowed up front. Everyone else had to deal with a crowded view of the screens.
Louise, UK
| It seems to me that those who left it far too late didn't get there |
I was not at the concert but drove through Stevenage at about 13:30 yesterday. The police and organisers were doing a great job in controlling the traffic and a lot of people were being moved very effectively. It seems to me that those who left it far too late didn't get there. The gates opened at midday - what on earth were people doing starting their journey from at least two hours away at and after this time? Surely you must realise that 125,000 people means a lot of cars!
Jon, UK The police cannot shift blame for Friday's Robbie Williams concert chaos onto the fans. Organisation was infantile. Signs were appalling; example the sign on the A1M northbound that declares Junction 7 is closed causing thousands to turn off at Junction 6!! Why didn't the sign say Jn7 CONCERT TRAFFIC ONLY? Who was the joker responsible for planning this event? Departure was no better. In the interest of safety the organisers decided to close the exit gates for 2 hours after the concert finished and then allowed 50,000 cars to make an every-man-for-himself dash to the single exit. Brilliant!!!
Robert Woodrough, UK
Did anybody else prepay for official 'priority' parking at �5.00 plus �1.50 postage and �0.25 booking fee only to find that paying on the day cost only �5.00? As for trying to leave the site, there is nothing like being told the A1(M) was closed for pedestrians to leave and having to stay for 3 hours in a car not moving! The problems were just as bad as for the Oasis concert and the organisers at Knebworth don't appear to have learnt any lessons from that.
Nicol, UK
| 3 hours to get there from Cambridge and 4 hours to get back |
Saw the show on Friday - 3 hours to get there from Cambridge and 4 hours to get back. I am not a huge Robbie fan but I would say it was well worth the hassle, both my wife and I agreed we would do it again given the opportunity.
Simon, UK I was at Friday's show. Robbie was amazing. A true showman, he did seem genuinely taken aback by the size of the crowd and the reaction he got.
Dom and Karen, UK
We went to see Robbie on Friday night travelling from Coventry to Knebworth in a limo, the five of us set off at 1.30pm. We got to the arena at 6.30 but the travelling time, the traffic and the massive crowds didn't matter once the Robster was on the stage. Robbie was FANTASTIC, the best gig he has ever done. He made us laugh, he made us cry all in the space of two hours. All we can say is, "Thank you Rob and we love you forever".
Emma Consadine, England
I will NEVER go to another gig at Knebworth again. Robbie, Moby and Ash were great, but there is no justification whatsoever for the fact that the concert finished at 10.30, and we finally made it out of the car park at 4.15am (and we were not the last out by a long way).
Melanie Griffiths, UK
| 125,000 people trying to get out of one gate is not a good idea!!! |
The most amazing gig made it the night of my life - Robbie certainly did make us proud. The only disappointment of the evening was trying to get out. 125,000 people trying to get out of one gate is not a good idea!!!
Karen Sutherns, England Robbie was out of this world!!!!!!!!!!
Tracey Anderson, England
The concerts officially start at 2pm with the audience gates opening at noon (the car park gates open at 9am). If people set off from South London at 3pm driving through Friday afternoon rush hour traffic, they really shouldn't be surprised that they don't actually make it to the concert. I plan to leave London at 7am tomorrow for the concert which hopefully means that we get reasonably near to the front. It's going to be a long day but I'm sure it'll be worth it!
Martyn Andrew, UK
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