Thousands of people partied the day and night away in Stokes Croft at the last ever Rave On Avon event on Saturday (May 18) - but for residents, there was a different kind of show.
In the back streets away from the main event, shocked people photographed a succession of men urinating in the road in broad daylight.
One local resident described it as ‘disgusting and gross’, as they counted 20 men using their home building as a toilet in just five minutes.
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The resident who sent Bristol Live these images - and many more pictures from the balcony of their flat in Charles Street, the back street behind Happy Tat - wished to remain anonymous, but said organisers of the festival had ‘completely failed’ to provide toilets for the thousands who came.
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But organisers have said they "do not condone" outside events set up by people outside of the festival itself, saying their event is "inside venues with toilets".
'The road was stained by the time it got dark'
The Charles Street resident said: “I don’t mind the music, I love seeing people out there having a good time, and it’s all great, but what I don’t want to see is person after person using the street and the building I live in as a toilet, just p***ing everywhere.
“The road was stained by the time it got dark, and it’s worse this morning,” he told Bristol Live.
“I counted about 20 men in five minutes before I stopped and went inside. There was no respect for the area they had come to party in and the people who live here.
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“Rave On Avon had not accounted for this at all, there was no provision for people going to the toilet. On an average Saturday, you might get one or two very occasionally, but this was one after another, or three or four at once, and there was lots of drug-taking going on as well,” he added.
'A huge problem for us every year'
The festival is a 16-hour-long rave held in many of Stokes Croft's bars and clubs.
By nightfall, the main Cheltenham Road and Stokes Croft A38 is taken over by partying ravers, gathering at Stokes Croft’s infamous focal point, Turbo Island.
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It is one of the most popular events in the Bristol music calendar, brings thousands of people to the city, and is unusual as a festival because it is, in theory at least, confined to existing venues, which will have their own official licences, capacities and toilet facilities.
Director Ruth Wiles said: "We don’t condone the outside events such as the sound systems set up in the streets.
"They are a huge problem for us every year and they don’t provide facilities for the people who attend. We hold our event inside venues with toilets.”
The event has run for 11 years, but the 2019 event is the last in Stokes Croft.
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Organisers hinted the change in culture of Stokes Croft was having an impact. The area has seen rapid gentrification, with flats being built or converted in many of the areas that were previously run-down, and hosting the original unofficial raves and parties of decades past.
“We have all seen the sad news about the closure of the world-famous Blue Mountain Club, and the potential for the sale of Lakota.
“Stokes Croft has seen many changes over the last decade,” said a Rave On Avon spokesperson last week, who also suggested that, as the event has become more and more popular, the police and council have become increasingly involved.
“Along with increasing demands from police and the council, drastically increasing budget, and reducing our ability to deliver the event you want, and deserve, this is now affecting the potential future of Bristol’s landmark club event,” he added.
The good news for residents like the one who took these pictures of urinating ravers, is that Rave On Avon will not be taking place in Stokes Croft next year, with the potential of it moving to a different area.
“Have no fear - 2020 will see exciting new beginnings,” a spokesperson said.
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