Security continues to be a main concern for festival organizers and attendees every year. Last week at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California a man opened fire on the crowd killing three people.
The festival attack in California has struck chords in the city of Chicago. The city is now increasing security for the upcoming Lollapalooza Festival scheduled August 1st – 4th.
The music festival held at Grant Park is expected to draw a crowd of 400,000 people. In addition to festival attendees, locals and visitors often stroll through the area during the week. Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance says its the “highest peak of pedestrian counts” on State Street throughout the year.
With such a large number of people in the area and the recent shooting, city officials say there are safety measures in place for the upcoming festivities. Both uniformed and undercover officers will be at the event. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also addressed plans and security measures for Lollapalooza.
“We are vigorously, aggressively reaching out, planning and drawing upon resources from our federal partners to make sure that there’s no incident here in Chicago,” she said.
The city and the festival have created different measures to increase the overall security of the upcoming festival. For example, the fencing put up around the festival’s perimeter would require “high powered tools” to breach.
Police have also cut down on what attendees can bring into the festival grounds. Backpacks and bags with multiple pockets are not allowed in. Festival security plans to search all bags at the gates.
Those attending should plan to finish all liquids before entering the festival. Hydration stations at Lollapalooza will provide free water.
You can find a full list of prohibited items here.
Despite recent events, this year promises to be another great year for Lollapalooza with security handling all safety concerns.
