Swedish music festival to go 'women-only' following sexual assault scandal

Following the cancellation of its 2018 edition due to a high number of reported sexual assaults and rapes at this year’s event, Bråvalla has apparently been replaced by what could be the largest women-only music festival in the world, according to The Telegraph.

As Sweden’s largest music festival, Bråvalla has been marred by controversy ever since it launched in 2013. In 2016, five rapes and 12 sexual assaults were reported. The issues grew this past weekend when 23 sexual assaults and 4 rapes took place during the four day festival that occurred from June 28 - July 1.

Speaking to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the festival commented about why they were forced to cancel: “Certain men … apparently cannot behave. It’s a shame. We have therefore decided to cancel Bråvalla 2018”.

The statement from the festival prompted a Swedish comedian named Emma Knyckare to chime in on Twitter about the prospects of a different type of festival: "What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome that we'll run until ALL men have learned how to behave themselves?"

Apparently the festival organizers took her advice and Knyckare confirmed that a women-only festival is now in the works: "Sweden's first man-free rock festival will see the light next summer. In the coming days I'll bring together a solid group of talented organisers and project leaders to form the festival organisers, then you'll hear from everyone again when it's time to move forward."

As Bråvalla Festival has a capacity of 50,000, the proposed event will be the largest music festival to only allow entry to women. Look for more news regarding this new event to surface in the coming months.