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K-pop concert in Indonesia cut short after crowd crush

K-pop band NCT 127 had to cut short their first-ever concert in Indonesia after 30 attendees fainted during a crowd crush.

Around two hours into the Jakarta concert, the band handed out freebies causing fans to surge toward the stage until the barricade fences collapsed.

“Because of it, 30 people fainted. To prevent other incidents, we decided to stop the concert at 9.20pm,” said police spokesperson, Endra Zulpan, adding that the collapsed fans had recovered.

Police allowed a second NCT 127 concert to go ahead on Saturday (5 November), but banned the distribution of merchandise to fans and required stricter measures to separate fans and performers.

“To make amends [for the crush] and give the best experience, we will add more paramedics and security personnel for the day 2 show,” the concert organiser Dyandra Global Edutainment said on Instagram.

It is the third crowd control incident in Indonesia in just over a month, prompting concerns from the Association of Indonesian Music Promoters about whether the remainder of this year’s concerts and festivals would be able to secure the necessary permits.

Last weekend, police cancelled the third day of the Berdendang Bergoyang music festival in Jakarta after nearly 30 people fainted due to overcapacity.

While, last month, 131 people were killed and hundreds injured in a stampede as they attempted to leave the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, after a football match.

AMPI has claimed officials could have a tougher stance on concerts and festivals, which would effect forthcoming events such as Soundrenaline, Head in the Clouds and Djakarta Warehouse Party.

However, the music body has stressed that the incidents at the live music events should not be equated with the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster.

“To make amends and give the best experience, we will add more paramedics and security personnel for the day 2 show”

Overcrowding was also the cause of two massive tragedies the weekend before last, in South Korea and the Congo.

The former incident happened following the Halloween celebrations in Itaewon in Seoul on Saturday (29 October). It was reported that over 100,000 people gathered in the district, which witnessed the crowd crush that killed over 150 lives and injured more than 100 others.

On the same day, 11 people died following a crush at an overcrowded stadium concert in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. Two police officers were among the victims at singer-songwriter Fally Ipupa’s hometown headline show at the Stadium of Martyrs on Saturday.

The two disasters came just weeks after nine people died in a stampede at a rock music festival in Guatemala.

In other news, a foundation has been launched in memory of 23-year-old Madison Dubiski, who was killed during the deadly crowd surge at last year’s Astroworld Festival, in an effort to ensure concert safety.

The Pink Bows Foundation is aiming to promote stronger safety protocols at concerts and provide scholarships to students interested in pursuing a career in risk management.

“Pink Bows Foundation promotes stronger safety protocols to be consistently implemented at entertainment venues, while encouraging safe spaces and protecting attendees to prevent avoidable injuries or death,” reads the charity’s mission statement.

The organisation is also working to establish legislation, possibly named Maddie’s Law or Showstoppers, that would stop events that don’t adhere to necessary safety measures.

The first wrongful death lawsuit settlements over last year’s Astroworld festival tragedy were reached at the end of last month.

 


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Car and buses separated in new T in the Park transport set-up

Following previous revelations that 2016’s festival will have a reconfigured, more spacious arena and a larger, better stewarded campsite, T in the Park has concluded its trio of announcements about the new infrastructure for July’s rejuvenated event.

Improvements include separate roads for buses and cars accessing the site; a large new bus station with over 40 stands; one dedicated pick-up and drop-off point; and a number of new car parks. Each transport hub will have dedicated management teams and facilities T in the Park promoter DJ Concerts says will “ensure the comfort of festivalgoers”.

The new set-up is being managed by the T in the Park’s new traffic manager, former road police inspector Ian Martin. “The changes to the on-site transport set-up are significant,” Martin says. “We’ve not tweaked last year’s: we started with a blank piece of paper and after months of testing and liaising with our partner agencies, including Transport Scotland, Perth and Kinross Council and Police Scotland, as well as local community councils, we have a solid plan in place.

“The separated routes for buses and cars will help keep traffic moving and the bus station will make travelling with Citylink and Big Green Coach the best ways to get to and from the festival.  With an event of this scale, an element of patience will always be required when getting in and out of the site, but I can guarantee this will be of a normal level and managed by an experienced team.”

The changes are explained in a new video from the festival, embedded below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P8OiqoasFc

All the new changes come as part of a major management restructuring for the festival. Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn was brought in as executive producer after last year’s event, its first at Strathallan Castle, which was heavily was criticised for its traffic congestion, failings on crowd control and security and repeated breaches of planning permission.

The criticism culminated in January, when Perth and Kinross Council warned that the festival’s future is in jeopardy “until DF can demonstrate their capability to effectively manage this event in future”.

The Stone Roses, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers and LCD Soundsystem are headlining T in the Park 2016.