Highland Games that left a 65-year-old dead was not granted a permit before event

The Highland Games in Geldrop, where a badly thrown metal ball killed a passerby on Sunday, did not have a permit. The Municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo never received a permit application. And Landgoed Kasteel Geldrop, where the event happened, does not have a permanent event permit, Omroep Brabant reports.

During the sporting event, a 65-year-old man from Geldrop got hit by a heavy metal ball. The ball was thrown incorrectly and went over the hedge and into an adjacent flower garden, where the victim was taking a walk. He did not survive.

After the dramatic accident, a spokesperson for the municipality said that the organizer, Highland Games Federation, had not asked for permission for the event. They assumed that the permanent event permit the Landgoed Kasteel Geldrop had would be sufficient, the spokesperson said.

But according to Jos van Lange, chairman of the Stichting Landgoed Kasteel Geldrop, the castle has no such permit. “The municipality did not issue a permit, and my foundation does not have a permanent event permit.”

The municipal spokesperson confirmed to Omroep Brabant that it received no permit applications and that there is indeed no permanent permit for the castle and its estate. She also said that the municipality only learned about the event through informal means - an announcement in the newspaper.

“Where the story of the permanent permit comes from is also a mystery to us. This week we will commission an independent third-party company to analyze the entire process. Of course, we, as well as the police, hope there will be clarity as soon as possible. How fast, I can’t say. A police investigation has been underway since Sunday,” the spokesperson told the broadcaster.