Boston Calling attendees describe 'overcrowding,' other problems
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The Revivalists perform in front of a massive crowd at Boston Calling on Sunday. Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Boston Calling
Overcrowding. Insufficient water. People being carried out on stretchers.
- This is what attendees say they encountered at Boston Calling on Sunday.
Why it matters: The popular music festival is under scrutiny after attendees say they faced unsafe conditions on a sweltering Day 3.
Between the lines: Some say they won't return unless the festival's organizers improve safety conditions.
What they're saying: If anything had happened, like the sound of a gunshot, "there would have been deaths, without a doubt. People would have been trampled," Alyssa Lutz, a Boston Calling attendee, tells Axios.
State of play: Boston EMS assigned 40 employees to work each day of the festival, a spokesperson said.
- The agency reported nearly 800 medical encounters last weekend, including 23 in which people were hospitalized.
- More than half of the medical episodes, 412, were on Sunday with 13 people being hospitalized.
- The spokesman said the volume of calls was "typical of music festival encounters with the heat playing a major role."
The other side: A Boston Calling spokesperson wrote to Axios the organizers wanted to "acknowledge the feedback from Sunday."
- "While attendee count was several thousand below the official capacity rating of the site, we never want anyone to feel uncomfortable or unsafe at the show."
It's unclear how many police incidents were reported.
- Axios' questions to Harvard police, who worked the event, were referred to Boston Calling.
- The event's spokesperson did not respond to questions about the number of incidents reported to police.
Zoom in: Lutz and her boyfriend flew up from Colorado to attend Boston Calling, spending $2,400 on their VIP passes alone.
- Unlike other music festivals she's attended, Lutz says the Boston event had too many people and too few water fountains and bathrooms, with some overflowing with excrement.
- Even VIP holders like her were "packed like sardines."
- Others commented with similar complaints on Boston Calling's Instagram posts.
What's next: Mayor Wu told reporters yesterday she wasn't at Boston Calling on Sunday but is open to helping the festival organizers address any concerns.
- "This is an event we want to continue seeing succeed in the city, which means if it needs the space to expand or needs more resources we'll keep working very closely with organizers," she said.