At least three people were stabbed – one of them seriously – and as many as 10 others were injured, as the massive Anselmo Ralph concert in Cascais last night descended into chaos.
Police had already warned that trouble was expected. Patrols had been monitoring trains and buses as young people, already on their radar as a result of the latest craze for “Meets” organised through social networking sites, made their way to the Festa do Mar at Cascais Bay.
In a bid to calm any tensions, Anselmo himself appealed to fans to avoid trouble and just enjoy the event, but it was not to be.
Scuffles broke out among the many thousands of spectators – a number of which were young parents with babies and children in pushchairs.
As police responded, the crowd started to panic and at least two women fainted.
Realising his appeals for calm were getting nowhere, the 33-year-old Angolan-born singer left the stage during what was meant to be the last song in his show.
Talking to reporters afterwards, he explained his greatest concern was that there were a number of children at the event, and they could have been at risk if the violence was not contained.
As it was, a number of violent discussions with bottles ended with various stabbing injuries – one of which is reported to have been serious.
A report by SIC TV highlighted the fact that a lot of the festival goers had been drinking heavily.
Police now are said to be trawling social networks to monitor new signs of trouble. Two further “Meets” have been organised for the Lisbon area in the next few days, as well as others in September.
Last week’s “meet” in Lisbon’s Vasco da Gama shopping centre saw five police agents injured and a number of young people arrested.
