Indians angry at concert facilities

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

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

But what awaited her was far worse than she had imagined.

Crowd control was minimal and there were no sanitation facilities. Overloaded cell phone networks stopped working, sparking fears for personal safety. Even using the restroom felt like a gamble, she said, as it meant spending the rest of the performance waiting in line at “unhygienic, smelly stalls.”

The venue, a huge piece of government-owned land in the northern city of Chandigarh, had no public transport or parking, so Ms Kaur had no choice but to drive to a friend’s house nearby – and then found herself stuck in the inevitable to stay, hours of traffic jams after the concert ended.

“You pay so much for a ticket and what do you get for it? A possible urinary tract infection and a severe headache with a few bouts of music,” she says of her experience.

This year has been a big one for India’s emerging concert industry, with major tours from Dua Lipa, Dosanjh and Maroon 5 already delighting audiences in packed stadiums and venues. Other international acts such as Green Day, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran will perform in the coming months.

Actually India’s music concerts generated about Rs 8 billion ($94.1m; £75.3m) revenue last year – a figure that is expected to rise by 25% by the end of 2025.

Young, wealthy Indians are not only willing to pay more to see their favorite music stars but are also actively seeking out these events. In 2023, more than 400,000 people in India said this traveled to other Indian cities to participate in live events.

But despite the excitement, many concertgoers say their experience was less than ideal. The issue made headlines earlier this week when a diabetic with incontinence problems said he got dirty at a Bryan Adams concert because there were no toilets at the venue.

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 was better. The singer later clarified that he was only referring to one of the venues.

Since then, social media has been abuzz with similar complaints from concertgoers. From booking tickets on shady scalping websites for surprisingly high pricesto spending hours in traffic before and after a show, often with a full bladder, fans say they have to pay with more than just money to see their favorite acts.

Those with the means are now choosing to attend shows in other countries for a safer and generally more entertaining experience. “At Adele’s concert in Munich, the staff continuously cleaned the toilets and it was super clean even after a three-hour concert,” says Ishika Goon, a Bengaluru-based lawyer. “If I have to spend that much money, I might as well go for the full experience.”

Organizers and promoters are aware of the problems but say they too are hampered by wider infrastructural challenges.

That’s because there aren’t enough venues for live concerts in India, leading to people opting for sub-optimal spaces or simply avoiding certain cities altogether, preventing the industry from expanding, says Anmol Kukreja, the co-founder by Skillbox, a live concert entertainment company that has organized more than 300 concerts.

Unlike many Western countries where concert venues are plentiful, he says events in India have to take place in places like malls, sports stadiums or public grounds – all of which come with their own limitations and many variables.

A mall may have better toilets and designated parking, but may not necessarily be able to accommodate large crowds, as might be the case with a large, barren site in a remote corner of the city with poor connectivity.

These days, many music events are held in public stadiums to minimize some of the inconveniences – but that also brings its own challenges, such as: B. poor sound quality, problems managing people and a lot of bureaucracy.

Government venues are better suited to large events, but the process of booking them can often be a complex “tangle of permits and licenses, which makes them less attractive,” says Kukreja.

To fill these gaps, organizers spend thousands of dollars before each concert on building temporary infrastructure at venues – the stage, makeshift toilets and parking spaces – which could lead to significant losses, adds Tej Brar, founder of the Mumbai-based Resident Third Culture Director of NH7, one of India’s largest music festivals.

And it’s not just business that’s suffering, the live music scene is also affected, as a whole segment of smaller and independent artists are left out because they’re not “big enough” to make people want to pay an exorbitant price to view them.

“If they’re not able to draw crowds of 10,000 or more people, they usually don’t get shows because the economics don’t work for the promoters.”

But even major international music festivals with star-studded lineups and million-dollar budgets have recently left fans disappointed.

“Everything is fine, but why are there no clean toilets?” asks Sreoshi Mukherjee, a Delhi-based journalist.

Ms Mukherjee, who attends music concerts across the country, was particularly appalled by the lack of toilets at Lollapalooza and Backstreet Boys, whose tickets cost between 5,000 ($59; £47) and 10,000 ($118; £94) rupees.

“There was a point where the toilets ran out of both toilet paper and water. We actually had to buy water bottles to relieve ourselves,” she says.

Criticism is growing over the inflated ticket prices that make these events highbrow cultural experiences for few, but there are other concerns about accessibility as well.

Most venues have little or no accommodations for people with disabilities, such as wheelchair access and audio description. At Dosanjh’s Chandigarh concert, Ms Kaur said they had to carry her wheelchair-using friend into the venue as there was neither a ramp nor an accessible path.

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

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

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

But the responsibility for fixing this needs to be shared, he adds. “While the company is responsible for selecting the location and setting ticket prices, the venue should have basic amenities. Adequate washrooms and dedicated cleaning staff should be standard at the venue.”

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

And for some, the large crowds and risk of possible infection still feel like a small price to pay for seeing their favorite star.

“The confusion and chaos is exciting,” said Mohammad Sami, a student.

“It’s like being stuck on an island with hundreds of strangers, united in the determination to survive the night.”