Coachella 2022: 112 people arrested in first weekend of festival

A number of people were arrested over drug and alcohol-related offences

US police officials have said they arrested 112 Coachella attendees over the first weekend of the music festival, which began last Friday (15 April).

The Californian music extravaganza returned to Indio after a two-year hiatus, when Covid-19 effectively shuttered the global live entertainment industry.

Billie Eilish made history on Saturday (16 April) when she became the youngest musician ever to headline Coachella.

Her fellow 2022 headliners include The Weeknd, performing with electronic music group Swedish House Media, and Harry Styles. Other performers included singers such as Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Brazilian megastar Anitta, Arcade Fire, south London MC Dave, and The Simpsons’s theme composer Danny Elfman.

As the rising number of fentanyl-related overdoses in Los Angeles continues to concern law enforcement, officials said that no overdose deaths were reported at Coachella this year.

However, police said the number of arrests in 2022 rose by 13 per cent, in comparison with Coachella’s 2019 edition.

As per police’s official figures, reported by TMZ, 112 festival-goers were arrested for drug and alcohol-related charges, as well as property crimes and false identification.

Of these, 85 people were apprehended for intoxication and three for selling drugs at the festival.

In 2019, the Indio Police Department added, 99 people were arrested in total.

“With any event of this magnitude and the festivities, unfortunately, people are going to make the choices of consuming more alcohol than they need to because they’re festive and they make the decision to use drugs,” Indio police spokesperson Benjamin Guitron said in a statement Monday.

“Which kind of is like... Wow, you spent so much time and effort to come to a worldwide, beautiful event, and then you’re going to get arrested.”

In addition to the arrests, police issued 72 citations – including over 50 for the illegal use of a disabled parking sign and 18 for parking in a handicapped spot – during the first weekend of Coachella.

Tents will go up again this Friday (22 April) when weekend two of the festival kicks off.

Follow all the latest updates from Coachella 2022 here.