My day at the Sziget Festival started with participating in a press conference together with the Deputy Police Chief of Budapest.
Our two British police officers, together with Netherlands, German and Polish counterparts, were present. I spoke about our long-standing bilateral police cooperation, going back to the early 1990’s.
There was media interest in what impressed our police at Sziget – and they liked the cashless system (you buy a card and after that no actual money changes hands) and the strict controls on alcohol (you need to wear a wristband showing you are over 18 before you can buy alcohol). Afterwards I went on patrol with the police around the site. The British police practice of engaging the fans in conversation is clearly a novelty to many of them.
Our next stop was Ability Park, a sort of theme park to show visitors what it is like to be disabled. We have worked with them several times before. They do fantastic work but are often struggling financially. My colleague Levi completes the wheelchair obstacle course, which I did last year.
