Late Tiesto fan's ashes fired out of cannon at Creamfields crowd of 70,000

Late Tiesto fan's ashes fired out of cannon at Creamfields crowd of 70,000
Photo credit: Facebook/Ryan Millen

A late fan of DJ Tiesto was remembered with an "unforgettable tribute" when his ashes were fired out of a cannon during the Dutch music producer's headline set at UK festival Creamfields. 

Stuart Mitchell's family sold his tickets to the dance music event after the 30-year-old father to a three-year-old son died in July, reportedly having taken his own life

The tickets were purchased by cousins Ryan and Liam Millen, who were also sent a small amount of Mitchell's ashes by his father Julian. 

"I would be most grateful if you would be able to scatter them somewhere at Creamfields, so that [Stuart] truly went there one last time," a note from Mitchell's dad read. 

The Millen cousins decided to go a step further, making banners to 'celebrate Stuart's life' bearing the words "this last dance is for you mate" to take to the festival, and asking the organisers if they could take a photo with the ashes on the main stage. 

Ryan Millen said he was "bowled over" when the Creamfields organisers not only accommodated this request, but said they would load Stuart's ashes into a cannon that would be set off during Tiesto's festival-closing headline set to a crowd of 70,000. 

"It can only be described as a once in a generation tribute to his biggest fan," Ryan wrote on a GoFundMe page set up as a memorial fund for Stuart. 

Stuart's sister Laura Mitchell told the BBC the gesture was "amazing and overwhelming", adding: "I thought 'oh my goodness, he's going to Creamfields', but I did not expect 'we blew him out of a cannon'."

Laura later revealed that the family had chosen to play Tiesto's song 'Adagio for Strings' at her brother's funeral. 

"Words cannot express our gratitude to his family for allowing us, to everyone who listened to his story and took pictures with the banner, and most importantly to the Creamfields production team for going above and beyond to accommodate us and go out of their way to allow us to honour his memory in such a fitting way," Ryan Millen told the Liverpool Echo

"Stuart Mitchell, we are humbled to have been allowed to help you complete your journey with us." 

"Please spread this message far and wide to raise awareness, nobody should ever be driven to taking their own life," Ryan wrote on the GoFundMe page. 

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