Photo: picture alliance/dpa, Karl-Josef Hildenbrand. All rights reserved.
Around 60,000 fans attended the premiere of the German Rolling Loud Festival on the open-air site of the Munich Exhibition Centre. Nevertheless, not only the performances of numerous hip-hop artists such as Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar and Wizkid should be remembered, but also the circumstances that led to the rap festival having to be interrupted.
Rolling Loud Festival: Aggressive behavior by individual viewers
The organizer Live Nation announced in a press release that “individual aggressive visitors caused unprovoked incidents” and thus disrupted the “largely smoothly running” festival. “Participants crowded into the front breakwater areas for no reason, although there was absolutely no reason for this. All participants had an excellent view of what was happening on stage, and the sound, light and video systems were among the most modern of their kind in the world.”
In addition, some folders were pelted with stones on Friday evening. “As a result, the program on the second stage on Friday evening had to be ended prematurely. All performances on the main stage took place as planned.” There was also an incident on Saturday afternoon in which spectators entered the areas in front of the main stage via the barrier. “Following urgent appeals from the organizers on the stage, the filling in the first breakwater area was reduced to the permitted capacity and the game was resumed. With their presence, police officers subsequently support the security service in complying with the restrictions, which are measured electronically. Thus, the performances on Saturday evening could be continued without any further interruption.”
That’s what the organizer says about the security concept
Organizer Andre Lieberberg from Live Nation explained in a statement that the safety of the guests must come first at major events of this kind: “We have been organizing the largest open-air concerts and festivals for decades and have mastered the most difficult situations, whether in storms or threats. In order to rule out pressure situations or overcrowding in front of the stage, several breakwater zones will be set up.”
Lieberberg added: “At the festival we responded to the problems as directly and professionally as possible. Our efforts have always been to comply with all official requirements and we are in constant contact with the police, fire brigade and the KVR [Kreisverwaltungsreferat].”
Despite the incidents, those responsible for the Rolling Loud Festival draw a positive balance. “The event concept has proven to be coherent and proven, including intensive security precautions. The individual incidents were quickly remedied through increased security measures.” Arrival and departure also worked without any problems and despite the high temperatures at the weekend, the drinking water points and shaded areas were sufficient. Nevertheless, many visitors rated the new festival poorly on Google – the current rating is a low 1.5 stars.