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Keeping big events safe from stampedes
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Over capacity: The audience is seen during the second day of Berdendang Bergoyang Festival on Oct. 29 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta. (Kompas.com/Baharudin Al Farisi) (Kompas.com/Baharudin Al Farisi)
V
eteran event organizers, crowd experts and concertgoers discuss ways to prevent overcrowding tragedies from happening at large-scale events.
On Oct. 29, South Korea saw at least 156 mostly young people killed in a crush at Seoul’s first post-pandemic Halloween party. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw a stampede that killed nine spectators and two police officers during a packed concert by local singer Fally Ipupa at the country’s biggest stadium in the capital city of Kinshasa.
Last Saturday night, the Berdendang Bergoyang music festival venue also saw crowds beyond its capacity, leading to at least 27 people being hospitalized. According to a report on Kompas.com, the festival had over 21,000 people at Istora Senayan, Central Jakarta, when the event’s permit was for only 3,000 spectators.
The chaos forced the Central Jakarta Police to cut the festival short and cancel Sunday, the last day.
Better safe than sorry
“There are three main things event organizers should be transparent about with the police. The first one is the venue’s capacity,” Harry “Koko” Santoso, CEO of concert organizer Deteksi Production, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Police also need to know how many tickets will be sold and who will perform at the show, he continued.
