“Heavy rain” has been forecast by Met Éireann for this weekend’s Oxegen festival, with downpours likely tomorrow, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon. Although there’s a chance that it will clear by early Sunday evening, festival- goers have been advised to bring weatherproof gear.
The Crisis Pregnancy Agency will be issuing protection of a different kind to festival-goers, with 20,000 “Think Contraception” packs. Each pack contains an individually-wrapped condom, a sexual health education leaflet and a map of the Oxegen site in a drawstring bag. The agency has distributed some 150,000 similar packs to fans at various festivals in Ireland since 2004.
Caroline Spillane, director of the CPA, said that such events provided the perfect opportunity to get the importance of safe sexual health across to the key demographic of 18- to 24-year-olds.
“We aim to provide education to festival-goers about the importance of using contraception correctly, to help prevent an unplanned pregnancy and protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs),” she said.
Meanwhile, the three-day festival has yet to sell out; tickets are still available from usual outlets.
lmurphy@irishtimes.com
