The 23rd February was the day the Janoskians, a comedy group based in Australia, held a meet and greet in Hyde Park, London.
Or rather, were supposed to. After almost 2,000 eager fans flocked to the scene, the police were forced to cut the meet and greet short due to safety risks. Seven teenagers were taken to hospital for minor injuries and many were trampled or hurt in the crowd.
The Janoskians (short for ‘Just Another Name of Silly Kids in Another Nation’) consist of five members all between the ages of 17 and 19. Beau Brooks, Jai Brooks, Luke Brooks, Daniel Sahyounie and James Yammouni owe their growing popularity to their YouTube channel – on which they regularly post the dares and pranks they perform on people in their local area. They have attracted attention from Justin Bieber, Liam Payne, and Ellen DeGeneres.
But even the Janoskians could not expect the commotion that occured in Hyde Park. Emma, 15, who was at the scene says "It was a great experience, I've been watching their videos for a while and I managed to touch them. I think they underestimated how many people there would be though, because they all looked overwhelmed. Fans mobbed them and the police had to arrive. I would have liked to have had a conversation with them rather than battle through a crowd, hopefully next time it will be different."
Similarly, Jaymie (15) says "Thousands of girls came and lined up around the band stand in Hyde Park and waited, until they finally arrived late. People ran to them before they even made it into the park - the Janoskians started walking to where people were queued but then more fans just attacked them. They got crushed and people fought just to touch their hand/hair. Then, about six security guards surrounded them and three police guards appeared. Loads of girls were crying and the boys all looked quite upset.
"It was just chaos and really badly organised."
