The Summer of 2023 felt like the first one which was truly “normal” after the COVID-19 pandemic. There were little to no restrictions regarding travel, people largely went around maskless and live music returned to large, crowded venues. Given the rapid transition from social distancing back to pre-pandemic life, it is a good time to evaluate the way that we, as a society, experience large events such as concerts, shows or movies that require many people to be packed together in a relatively tight space.
For many people like me, the experience of being in a packed, massive environment is extremely uncomfortable. As much as I love live music, seeing shows and experiencing new things, the thought of being pressed up against hundreds of people that I do not know is frankly a little bit nauseating. While other people may experience this as an excitement, I do not, and it is unfortunate that it is an experience that one must endure for the sake of seeing live events.
It is definitely true that there are more mediums now for alternative experiences of live entertainment than before—there are concert movies and live streams which can emulate the experience of live entertainment—but there is something different and indescribable about experiencing live entertainment itself. Whether it is the thrum of the music in your chest, or the shock of a jumpscare inside of a movie theater, there is still something magical about live entertainment, outside of your home. However, my personal feelings about being in crowds for live entertainment are eclipsed by safety considerations, many of which have been extremely relevant in our world today.
To take a very recent example, a fan recently passed away at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro, as reported by ABC News. Ana Clara Benevides Machado, a 23-year-old woman from rural Brazil, passed away, and while an official cause of death has yet to be identified, it is likely that the extreme heat in Rio de Janeiro played a role in her passing. The temperature reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit on the day of the concert, with the heat index reaching 123 degrees Fahrenheit. She reported feeling unwell, at which point she was taken to a first aid tent, and she later died at a hospital. It is unconscionable that in 2023, people should be dying for the sake of experiencing live entertainment. On top of the heat, it was reported by Fox 59 that the stadium did not allow people to bring water bottles or refreshments into the stadium, making it even easier for someone to become dehydrated and sick. In fact, Swift herself had to pause at several moments during the show to throw water bottles into the crowd to fans who were feeling unwell, according to The Independent. During the South American leg of the Eras Tour, the floor section of the stadium is first-come, first-served, so many people were waiting for hours in order to get into the stadium and get a good view of the concert. This begs the question: Where were the stadium workers this whole time, and why were they not handing out water to the concertgoers, both before and during the show? The people who were in charge of the concert knew that it would be warm, and that water, which the concertgoers could not bring in, would be needed. This is not to cast blame on Swift or her team, or even individual workers; they were likely uninvolved in the stadium’s policies that may have led to the death of Machado. Instead, this is a critique of how organizations plan and implement policies surrounding big events like this. A better system needed to be in place to ensure that the fans at the concert were in a safe and comfortable environment. It is also an example of the fact that during live events (in this case, one that packed almost 70,000 people into one stadium) can quickly go wrong when there are more people than can be safely handled by any organization or overseeing body. It is a perfect formula for people’s needs and safety getting overlooked as a result of the strain on resources. It is also entirely possible that this becomes more of a problem in the future. As the Earth warms and climate change causes more and more natural disasters, events like heat waves and their subsequent effects on people in situations where they are exposed and vulnerable become more and more likely.
The truth is that there are a whole host of events that can be used as a case study on the negative effects of crowding, especially during live events. Some recent ones that come to mind are the Astroworld Festival crowd crush, where 10 people died, according to Billboard, or even the crowd crush in South Korea, where 159 people died, according to The New York Times. Before we have more tragic headlines like this, we must change the way we experience live events.
Being in crowds is usually a safe experience, but it can sometimes devolve into a tragedy. Why do we put up with this? Another way of experiencing live entertainment must be possible. It may be hard to imagine how this could be. One option could be to safely regulate crowds and events at a government policy level. It is necessary to ensure that there are safety protocols in place for any event over a certain number of people, and to restrict ticket sales to events so that the number of people at an event can be safely managed. Prioritizing ticket sales and packing as many people as possible into a stadium is only going to end poorly. We should instead look to create a system of regulations which looks to protect and care for everyone while we enjoy live events together.