Ozora Festival 2024, one of the largest editions in its history with over 50,000 attendees, has been marred by a tragic incident involving a man from New Zealand who died after jumping into a massive bonfire.
The bonfire, a central feature of the festival designed to provide warmth and foster a communal atmosphere, became the scene of a heartbreaking event on the evening of Thursday, 1 August.
The man, in his 30s and travelling alone from New Zealand, leapt over the metal barrier surrounding the bonfire—a structure several feet tall. Eyewitnesses describe the scene as both shocking and surreal.
One witness recounted, “It’s very sad. I was there with my partner, and we watched in horror as he jumped over the metal barrier. He was a tall guy, and we don’t know if it was a mix of drugs or alcohol, or both. We were in shock watching him lay on the fire. We thought he was gone, but then he woke up and, with the help of a few people, managed to get out. Later, when I asked at the medical tent, they said he had died at the hospital. They didn’t know if it was a combination of drugs or something else.”
The authorities have confirmed that the man’s family are flying to Europe to recover his body. The festival’s organizers are cooperating with the investigation and reviewing safety measures and emergency response protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This incident echoes a similar tragedy from 2013, when another festival-goer died after jumping into a fire at Ozora Festival. The recurrence of such events has sparked renewed discussions about festival safety at some of the best psytrance festivals in the world.
Photo credit: Transformational Eye
