Indians are angry about concert facilities

When Amrita Kaur decided to attend Punjabi pop star Diljit Dosanjh's concert in India this month, she was prepared to experience some discomfort.

Having attended several concerts in the past, Ms Kaur was somewhat looking forward to the “joyful chaos” that comes with large crowds at large events in India.

But what awaited her was much worse than she imagined.

Crowd control was minimal and sanitation was non-existent. Overloaded mobile phone networks stopped working, raising concerns about personal safety. Even using the toilet was a gamble, she said, because it meant having to spend the rest of the show queuing in front of “unsanitary and smelly booths.”

The place, a huge plot of government-owned land in the northern city of Chandigarh, had no public transport or parking space, leaving Ms Kaur no choice but to drive her car to a friend's house nearby – and then stumble into the inevitable . Traffic jam lasted for hours once the concert ended.

She says of her experience: “You pay a lot for a ticket, and what do you get in return? The possibility of a urinary tract infection and a severe headache with some bouts of music.”

This year has been a big one for India's booming concert industry, with Dua Lipa, Dosanjh and Maroon 5 making major concert and stadium tours that have already impressed audiences. Other international acts such as Green Day, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are scheduled to perform in the coming months.

In fact, concerts in India It generated around Rs 8 billion ($94.1m; £75.3m) of revenue last year – a figure set to rise by 25% by the end of 2025.

Young, affluent Indians are not only willing to pay more to see their favorite music stars, but they actively seek out these events. In 2023, more than 400,000 people in India said so Travel to other Indian cities To attend live events.

But despite the enthusiasm, many partygoers say their experience was far from ideal. The issue made headlines earlier this week, when a diabetic patient with urinary incontinence issues said he ended up soiling himself at a Bryan Adams concert due to the venue not having access to restrooms.

On the same day, Dosanjh, who was on a nationwide tour, shocked his fans by announcing that he would not perform in India again until the infrastructure at concert venues improved. The singer later clarified that he was referring to only one place.

Since then, social media has been filled with similar complaints from concertgoers. From booking tickets on elusive scalping sites for Surprisingly high pricesbraving the hours-long traffic before and after the show, often with a full bladder, fans say they have to pay more than just money to watch their favorite acts.

Those with the means are now choosing to attend shows in other countries for an overall safer and more enjoyable experience. “At Adele's Munich concert, the staff constantly cleaned the toilets, and they were very clean even after the three-hour concert,” says Ishika John, a Bengaluru-based lawyer. “If I had to spend a lot of money, I might as well go for the full experience.”

Organizers and promoters acknowledge the problems but say they also face broader infrastructure challenges.

This is because India does not have enough dedicated venues for live concerts, forcing them to choose suboptimal spaces or simply avoid certain cities altogether, all of which prevents the industry from expanding, says Anmol Kokria, co-founder of Skillbox, a live streamer. . An entertainment company that has organized more than 300 concerts.

Unlike many Western countries where concert venues abound, he says events in India must be held in places like malls, sports stadiums or on public land – all of which have their own limitations and many variables.

The mall may have better restrooms and designated parking areas, but it will not necessarily be able to accommodate huge crowds as a large wasteland located in a remote corner of the city with poor connectivity might.

Nowadays, many music events are held inside public stadiums to reduce some of the inconvenience – but this comes with its own challenges, such as poor sound quality, crowd management issues and a lot of red tape.

Government-owned venues are better suited for large events, but the process of booking them can often be a “complicated web of permissions and licences, which makes them less attractive,” says Kokria.

To fill these gaps, organizers end up spending thousands of dollars on building temporary infrastructure at the venues — stage, temporary bathrooms and parking spaces — before each concert, which can incur huge losses, adds Tej Brar, founder of Mumbai-based Third Culture. Director of NH7, one of the largest music festivals in India.

And it's not just business, the live music scene is affected as well, with a whole segment of small, independent artists being shut out because they're not “big enough” to make people want to pay a high price to see them.

“If they can't attract crowds of 10,000 or more, they usually won't get shows because the economics won't suit the organizers.”

But recently, even major international music festivals with superstars and multi-million dollar budgets have disappointed fans.

“It's all fine but why don't you have clean toilets?” asks Srioshi Mukherjee, a Delhi-based journalist.

Mukherjee, who attends concerts across the country, was particularly dismayed by the lack of restrooms at Lollapalooza and Backstreet Boys, where ticket prices range from 5,000 rupees ($59, £47) to 10,000 rupees ($118, 94 pounds). (£).

“At some point, we ran out of toilet paper and water in the bathroom,” she says. “We had to buy bottled water to relieve ourselves.”

Criticism is mounting against inflated ticket prices that turn these events into high-profile cultural experiences reserved for only a few, but there are other accessibility concerns as well.

Most places have few or no accommodations for people with disabilities – such as wheelchair access and audio description. At Dosanjh's concert in Chandigarh, Ms Kaur said they had to carry their wheelchair-using friend to the venue as there was no ramp or access path.

The BBC has contacted the organizers of all the events mentioned in the story for comment.

Others in business say there can't be a one-size-fits-all solution to problems, but they worry about its long-term impact on the business. For now, people are still willing to pay. But consistently poor facilities may change their minds.

“Word of mouth plays a crucial role in event attendance, and negative feedback can damage an organiser’s reputation,” says Mr Brar.

He adds that the responsibility for fixing this must be shared. “While the company is responsible for selecting the location and setting ticket prices, the venue must provide basic amenities. Adequate restroom facilities and dedicated cleaning staff should be a standard for the venue.”

As the country prepares to host big names like Sheeran and Green Day, fans are hoping for an even better experience.

For some, huge crowds and the potential risk of infection are still a small price to pay to see their favorite star.

“There is excitement and anarchy,” says student Mohamed Sami.

“It's as if you're stranded on an island with hundreds of strangers, united by their determination to survive the night.”