Diljit Dosanjh, Bryan Adams: Indians are furious at concert venues

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

Ms Kaur, who has attended several concerts in the past, was looking forward to the “amazing chaos” that comes with huge crowds at major events in India.

But what awaited him was worse than he had imagined.

Crowd control was minimal and sanitation was lacking. Overloaded mobile networks have stopped working, prompting fears about personal safety. He even said that using the toilet felt like a gamble as he had to spend the rest of the performance taking turns in front of “unsanitary, smelly cubicles”.

The huge tract of state-owned land in the northern city of Chandigarh had no public transport links or parking, leaving Ms Kaur with no choice but to drive her car to a nearby friend – and then get stuck. , the concert ended after hours of traffic.

“You pay that much for a ticket and what do you get in return? A possible urinary tract infection and a bad headache with some music,” he said.

This year has been a big one for India’s burgeoning concert industry, with massive tours by Dua Lipa, Dosanjh and Maroon 5 thrilling stadiums and arenas. Other international acts such as Green Day, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran will perform in the coming months.

Actually music concerts of India It earned about 8 billion rubles ($94.1m; £75.3m) in revenue last year – a figure expected to rise 25% by the end of 2025.

Young, affluent Indians are not only willing to pay more to see their favorite music stars, they are actively seeking these events. In 2023, more than 400,000 people in India said it He traveled to other cities in India, external attend live events.

But despite the enthusiasm, many concertgoers say their experience is far from ideal. The issue made headlines earlier this week when a diabetic with urinary incontinence said he soiled himself at a Bryan Adams concert due to a lack of washrooms.

On the same day, Dosanjh, who was touring the country, shocked his fans by announcing that he would not perform in India again until the infrastructure at concert venues was improved. The singer later clarified that he meant only one of the locations.