Audience Safety And Music Concert

Illustration of music concerts. (Unsplash Photo)

A number of music concerts have been canceled. The reason is the police did not issue a permit. Starting from the Berdendang Bergoyang Festival concert which was held at Istora Senayan. According to the police, as disclosed by the Central Jakarta Metro Police Chief Kombes Komarudin, the concert was canceled because the committee sold tickets not according to the permit. The request letter stated that the number of spectators was 3,000, but if you look at the online data according to Kombes Komarudin, there are 27 thousand (tickets sold) in total.

The Berdendang Bergoyang Festival was supposed to be held for 3 days, from 28-30 October 2022. However, on the second day, an incident occurred. The audience inside Istora Senayan was already very crowded. Dozens of people fainted and had to receive medical treatment. Police officers immediately took the first steps to anticipate by placing restrictions and then revoking the operating license.

As a result of the incident, the Dewa 19 concert at the Jakarta International Stadium, which was originally to be held on November 12, 2022, was postponed. The concert to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Dewa 19 has been postponed to February 2023.

According to Dewa 19 frontman Ahmad Dhani, as quoted from the Video Legend youtube channel, the police did not give permission because they were not ready with an audience of 70,000. The permit itself has not yet been issued. However, ticket sales for the concert have already been sold. It is even said that the entrance ticket sold up to 65,000 in 15 minutes.

After that, the concert of the music group Slank, which was originally scheduled to be held on November 6 in Palembang, was also canceled. The reason is the same. The police did not issue a permit because of the safety factor.

Previously, the concert of the South Korean group NCT 127: The Link on November 4-5 in Serpong, Tangerang was stopped on the first day. The reason was not because of violating the permit but because of the threat of bombs and also the safety factor of the audience. Hearing that there was a bomb threat, the officers acted quickly. Combing location. When it's safe. On the second day, the concert continued. Organizers also provide various medical equipment in case a spectator faints.

The action of the police should be appreciated. Bombs are not an easy matter. Must be anticipated. The same goes for crowd permits and audience safety. Cannot be taken lightly. The Berdendang Bergoyang Festival was chaotic to the point of causing casualties. Dozens of spectators fainted. In a different context, the Kanjuruhan tragedy in Malang also started with the number of spectators exceeding the capacity of the venue. Normatively, the masses in the crowd are easy to trigger a commotion.

That is also as stated by Ahmad Dhani. According to him, the security forces did not issue a permit because they were not ready to handle an audience of more than 70,000. He could accept that.

Dealing with such a large audience is not an easy matter. But it's not impossible. During this time there have been many large-scale concerts. It's safe if handled properly and correctly. Just prepare.

After two years of being hit by a pandemic, music concerts are not only entertainment but also revive the economy. So delaying may still be tolerated but canceling it doesn't feel right.

With careful preparation, it's not difficult to make a music concert safe. Especially if everyone obeys the rules and works well together. The organizers and security forces understand their respective duties and functions. If naughty organizers sell more tickets than they want or violate security protocols, strict action must be taken.

Nobody wants undesirable things to happen. Causing a commotion or falling victim. Especially to the point of taking lives. Nothing can replace human life. However, the activity must go on. Including music concerts. People have been tired of being hit by COVID-19 for two years. People need entertainment and most importantly the economy must move.

But, once again, every music concert organizer must prioritize the safety of the audience and the public, not just the pursuit of profit. (*)