One dead after sign crushes Christian festival-goers.
Emergency services called to Big Church Festival after ‘devastating accident’ in windy conditions.
Published 28 August 2026 5:24pm BST
Ambulances and police cars are seen at the scene of the incident at the Big Church Festival Credit: Eddie Mitchell for The Telegraph
A man has died and several people are in hospital after being crushed by a sign at a Christian music festival in West Sussex.
The incident took place at the Big Church Festival near Steyning at about 3.30pm on Friday.
Sussex Police confirmed that a 41-year-old man from Eastbourne had died at the scene.
Emergency services were called to the festival site after reports that a large sign had fallen and injured a number of people
Det Ch Supt Richard McDonagh said: “At least six other people were also injured during this incident and have been taken to hospital for treatment.
“I recognise the immense distress this will have caused people at the festival, and we are working with a number of partners as we seek to establish exactly what happened.
One festival attendee told The Times he had heard the “worship tent sign has blown over and landed on a few people”. He added that an air ambulance had attended the scene.
An ambulance and a police car were seen racing towards the scene to treat the injured Credit: Eddie Mitchell for The Telegraph
The event started on Friday and had been due to run until Sunday. A livestream of the festival, which was being broadcast on God TV, was suspended after the incident.
The Met Office had urged festival-goers to prepare for windy conditions over the bank holiday weekend, with a number of events also taking place in Reading, Leeds and Portsmouth. Its weather map showed wind speeds of up to 27mph in Shoreham, West Sussex, on Friday afternoon.
A statement on the Big Church Festival website initially said the 2026 event had been “paused following a serious incident on site”. However, organisers later alerted all visitors that the event had been “brought to a close because of the devastating accident that happened on site today”.
They added: “The campsite will remain open for those who wish to stay overnight, or you’re free to travel home if you wish. We know you will have many questions, more information will be on our website when it becomes available.”
Thousands of festival-goers were asked to evacuate the site after the show was stopped Credit: Eddie Mitchell for The Telegraph
Earlier in the day, a safety announcement displayed on a big screen at the main stage told attendees: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, the show has been stopped. Any campers, please head back to the campsite immediately. Any non-campers, please remain in the main arena.”
In a post on Instagram shortly after 5.30pm, organisers told guests that Friday’s show had been cancelled and all day visitors “must leave the site now”.
James Lewis, who was at the festival, told Premier Christian News earlier that guests had not been allowed to get in or leave, with the site placed on “lockdown”.
According to its website, Big Church Festival was founded in 2009 and is the UK’s biggest Christian festival. The three-day event welcomes up to 40,000 guests every August bank holiday.
The line-up was expected to include around 60 Christian artists and worship leaders performing on stages across the site, as well as activities including dodgems and a worship tent, with “intimate encounters and uplifting worship”. DT.
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