Our view: State has opportunity to develop template for concert safety
Tragedy struck during a recent Travis Scott concert at the Astroworld Festival in Houston when an energetic and enthusiastic crowd of some 50,000 surged toward the stage, resulting in the deaths of eight people.
There have been a lot of questions asked in the aftermath, and many of those remain unanswered. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed with at least one civil suit filed against Scott, who was among the organizers of the event. Meanwhile, the Houston Police Department’s investigation continues as to whether criminal charges will be filed.
However, in an effort toward ensuring a similar incident doesn’t occur, the state has convened a task force to look at security protocols for such events. This is a prudent step. No one attends a concert bargaining for it to devolve into chaos, and those who oversee such events should plan for possible contingencies and be held accountable when breakdowns occur.
“Live music is a source of joy, entertainment, and community for so many Texans – and the last thing concertgoers should have to worry about is their safety and security,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement reported by the Texas Tribune.
Texas Music Office Director Brendon Anthony has been named to oversee the task force, which comprises safety consultants, music industry experts and law enforcement officials, according to a story in the Tribune. Their charge is developing a series of recommendations to ensure the safety of future concertgoers.
Providing for a safe and enjoyable atmosphere at large-scale events is primarily the responsibility of the city in which they take place. Specific requirements can vary from city to city. According to reports, oversight of Astroworld is complicated as it is located on Harris County property and is a private corporation with a board that answers to county commissioners. The county, though, isn’t involved in issuing permits for on-site events.
In some cases, multiple departments, such as police, fire and health authorities share some of the responsibility. According to the Tribune’s story, individual departments are doing their own reviews of the event to see what happened and why. One suggestion called for an independent investigation into the tragedy. That is an idea worth considering as an objective review can inspire confidence.
It also is worth pointing out the New York Times reported Houston police had safety concerns prior to the event and addressed those worries to Scott. In other words, law enforcement sensed calamity was a distinct possibility.
Of course, it’s not the first time something like this has happened. Perhaps the most well-known previous incident occurred prior to a 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati in which 11 people were killed in a rushing crowd moving toward first-come (festival) seating. Decades later, nine people were killed because of a surging crowd at a Pearl Jam show in Denmark in 2000. Sadly, there are many other examples.
The task force has its work cut out for it. The opportunity is to use its collective and significant expertise to design an operational template for the future. Certainly, there is no one-size-fits-all solution here, but there are best practices that can be implemented and enforced to make sure Texas is never again the site of this kind of tragedy.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: State has opportunity to develop template for concert safety
