After the Astroworld Disaster, a Reckoning for Music Festivals

When the music started, the crowd of 50,000-plus festival goers surged forward. Those in front of the stage found themselves pinned against metal barriers, unable to raise their arms or even draw breath. As the crowd packed ever tighter, a few people slipped, fell, and were trampled. Others died standing up, suffocating to death as the music continued to play. By the time anyone realized what had happened, nearly ten people were dead and dozens more injured. It was June 30, 2000, and the scene was a Pearl Jam concert at Denmark’s annual Roskilde Festival, one of the largest music events in Europe.

The parallels to Friday’s deadly Travis Scott concert in Houston, on the first night of the Live Nation–organized Astroworld festival, are uncanny. After both events, concertgoers were initially blamed—for using drugs, for mobbing the stage, for failing to help each other—even as experts in crowd science pointed their fingers at poor event planning.  

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