How the Astroworld tragedy changed gigs forever...
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‘Do not, in any circumstances, incite the crowd’: how the Astroworld tragedy changed gigs for ever. Since 10 fans were killed at a Travis Scott event, artists from Billie Eilish to Harry Styles have been stopping their shows at the first sign of trouble. Safety experts explain why – and how it started with Oasis. The show must go on – except when it shouldn’t. In 2022, scarcely a week goes by without a major artist stopping a gig for safety reasons such as preventing crowd surges or alerting the medical team.
In July, Adele stopped her Hyde Park show four times to help overheating fans. Harry Styles repeatedly pressed pause during his latest tour earlier this year; Doja Cat waited five minutes for security to sort out an issue at Lollapalooza Argentina, and Sam Fender warned fans to stop fighting at his Glasgow gig. Pharrell Williams, Slipknot, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Killers have also had to act as crowd control.
This cautiousness is evidently the product of the Astroworld festival disaster last November. Run by the rapper Travis Scott, the event saw a fatal crowd crush cause the deaths of 10 fans and injure more than 300. Scott was criticised for allegedly disregarding fans’ pleas to stop the show, although he described how he had paused it several times, including when an ambulance arrived, “to just make sure everyone was OK”. He has denied responsibility, saying he was unaware that anything was amiss until after his set.
“I would guarantee that since Astroworld, management companies are saying to their artists: if you see this happening, do not in any circumstances incite the crowd,” says Steve Allen. A tour manager for Led Zeppelin, Blur, Pulp and Red Hot Chili Peppers, he is now head of the consultancy organisation Crowd Safety and was an expert witness in the Astroworld civil lawsuits. “If someone is saying stop the show, then stop the show. If not, it’ll be the end of your career.”
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