A funeral was held this week for pastor Robert Guanco after he was killed by a falling sign at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex. Isaeli told mourners he had “never wasted a minute of his life,” while Horsham District Council said it was still pursuing several lines of inquiry into the death.
Isaeli at Robert Guanco funeral
Guanco was 41 and had served as a pastor at Jesus the Living Water Church in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Isaeli said she was “overwhelmed” by the support she had received since his death, and she described him as a “beautiful soul.”
One mourner said, “Pastor Robert was more than a bible study leader, mentor, teacher and close friend.” Another said Guanco was “a beautiful soul who touched our lives profoundly.” Guanco was referred to by everyone as Kuya Robert in Filipino.
Big Church Festival in Wiston Park
The sign fell on Friday August 28 at Big Church Festival in Wiston Park, near Steyning. Witnesses described people rushing to lift the heavy sign after it was blown over in the wind, and the sign read “Everything's Unmissable.”
Six other people were injured in the incident, and four of them were taken to hospital for treatment. The festival was founded in 2009, and a fundraising page for Guanco’s widow and daughter has raised nearly £242k.
Horsham District Council inquiry
Horsham District Council sent its condolences to Guanco’s family and friends this week and said its health and safety investigations were continuing. The HSE said it had given specialist assistance in the local authority’s investigation into the death.
The organisers at the Christian festival were said to have been heartbroken by events, but the inquiry is still moving through lines of inquiry that include how the sign was secured and what led it to fall in wind. For those still waiting for answers, the remaining question is whether the investigation will identify a safety failure behind a death that also left six other people injured.
Chelsea face the benchmark in Lyon remains a separate fixture, but the same week has brought a different kind of scrutiny for public events and crowd safety. In West Sussex, the focus now stays on the investigation and the family left behind.
