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 to experience some discomfort.

Having attended several concerts in the past, Ms. Kaur somehow looked forward to the “exciting chaos” that comes with big crowds at big events in India.

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

Crowd control was minimal and sanitation was non-existent. Congested mobile networks stopped working, raising concerns about personal safety. Even using the restroom felt like a gamble, she said, as it meant spending the rest of the performance queuing outside “unsanitary, smelly booths.”

The site, a huge piece of government land in the northern city of Chandigarh, had no public transport links or parking space, leaving Ms Kaur with no option but to drive her car to a close friend – and then drive into the inevitable. hour-long traffic jam after the concert was over.

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

This year was an important one for India's burgeoning concert industry, with major tours by Dua Lipa, Dosanjh and Maroon 5 filling stadiums and arenas that were already thrilling audiences. Other international acts such as Green Day, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran will perform in the coming months.

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

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

But despite the enthusiasm, many concertgoers say their experience was far from perfect. The issue made headlines earlier this week when a diabetic and incontinence patient said he ended up soiling himself at a Bryan Adams concert because of a lack of toilets at the venue.

On the same day, Dosanjh, who is on a national tour, shocked his fans by announcing that he will not perform in India again until concert hall infrastructure is improved. Later, the singer clarified that he meant only one of the establishments.

Since then, social media has been flooded with similar complaints from concertgoers. From booking tickets on dodgy scalping websites for amazingly high pricesto contend with hours of pre- and post-show traffic, often at a blistering pace, fans say they have to pay more than cash to see their favorite acts.

Those with the means now choose to attend shows in other countries for a safer and generally more entertaining experience. “At Adele's concert in Munich, the staff kept cleaning the toilets and it was super clean even after a three-hour concert,” says Ishika Gunn, a Bengaluru-based lawyer. “If I'm going to spend that much money, I might as well go for the full experience.”

Organizers and organizers acknowledge the problems, but say they are also hampered by broader infrastructure challenges.

That's because India doesn't have enough venues dedicated to live concerts, forcing them to choose suboptimal spaces or simply avoid certain cities altogether, all of which prevent the industry from growing, says Anmol Kukreja, co-founder of Skillbox, live an entertainment company that has organized more than 300 concerts.

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

A mall may have better toilets and dedicated parking areas, but it may not necessarily be able to accommodate huge crowds like a large bare ground located in a remote corner of the city with poor connectivity could.

Nowadays, many music events are held in public stadiums to minimize 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.

State halls are more suitable for large events, but the process of booking them can often be a complicated “web of permits and licenses, which makes them less attractive”, says Mr Kukreja.

To deal with these gaps, organizers end up spending thousands of dollars to build temporary infrastructure at the venues – a stage, temporary bathrooms and parking spaces – before each concert, which can lead to serious losses, adds Tej Brar, founder of Mumbai-based Third Culture and the director of NH7, one of India's biggest music festivals.

And not only does business suffer, but the live music scene is also affected as a whole segment of smaller and independent artists are left out because they aren't “big enough” to make people want to pay an exorbitant price for to watch them.

“If they can't get crowds of more than 10,000 people or more, they usually won't have shows because the economics won't work for the promoters.”

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

“That's fine, but why can't you have clean toilets?” asks Sreoshi Mukherjee, a Delhi-based journalist.

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

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

Criticism of inflated ticket prices, turning these events into high-profile cultural experiences for the few, is growing, but there are other concerns about affordability.

Most venues have little or no provision for disabled people – such as wheelchair access and audio description. At Dosanjh's concert in Chandigarh, Ms Kaur said they had to carry her friend in a wheelchair to the venue as there was no ramp or walkway for access.

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

Others in the business say there can be no one-size-fits-all solution, but worry about its longer-term impact on business. Right now, people are still willing to pay. But consistently bad gear might 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.

But the responsibility to fix this, he adds, must be shared. “While the company takes responsibility for selecting the location and setting the ticket prices, the venue must provide basic amenities. Adequate toilets and specialist cleaning staff should be standard for the hall.'

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

And for some, the huge crowds and risk of potential infection still feel like a small price to pay to see their favorite star.

“There's a thrill in the mess and chaos,” says Mohammad Sami, a student.

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