A crowd surge throughout Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival set at Houston’s NRG Park in November 2021 resulted in 10 individuals dying from compression asphyxia, tons of of accidents, and thousands of lawsuits. Scott offered to pay for funeral expenses and was mostly rebuffed, and he legally denied responsibility. One sufferer’s household settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Scott and Reside Nation in October. Yesterday (November 29), Billboard reported what steps are being taken to forestall one other tragedy like this from occurring once more at NRG Park.
In keeping with the report, the Metropolis of Houston-Harris County Particular Occasions Job Pressure has amended an interlocal settlement “to streamline security protocols, allowing necessities and communication for large-scale occasions at NRG Park.” That is probably the most essential change to the venue’s security protocols:
“Underneath the brand new settlement, any occasion internet hosting greater than 6,000 individuals on the complicated would require an on-site unified command heart staffed by the Houston Hearth Division (HFD), Houston Police Division (HPD), Mayor’s Workplace of Particular Occasions (MOSE), Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace (HCSO), Harris County Hearth Marshal’s Workplace (HCFMO), NRG Park and the occasion organizer. Going ahead, evaluate and approval of occasion capability in addition to web site, safety and medical plans will fall on the HFD chief or a designee. The HFD will even be tasked with clarifying necessities with occasion organizers to make sure they meet security, medical and web site planning necessities on the venue. Safety plans would require extra sign-off by the HPD, whereas occasion plans will want sign-off from MOSE. Ideally, having a chosen authority will reduce the chance of confusion and inaction throughout occasions. Permits for NRG Park will proceed to be issued by the Metropolis of Houston.”
The modification comes seven months after the Texas Job Pressure On Live performance Security, created by Governor Greg Abbott, concluded that Astroworld “suffered from allowing points and inadequate coaching for safety,” as famous by Billboard on the time.
Scott’s first sit-down interview post-Astroworld was with Charlamagne Tha God in December 2021.
“It will get so arduous as a result of, you realize, I all the time really feel related with my followers,” Scott mentioned at one level throughout the 51-minute dialog. “I went via one thing and I really feel like followers went via one thing and folks’s mother and father went via one thing, and it actually hurts. It hurts the neighborhood, it hurts town. There’s been numerous ideas, numerous emotions, numerous grieving, and simply attempting to wrap my head round it. And actually simply desirous to be there and wishing you may simply maintain everybody, form of simply heal them, discuss to them, have conversations. It actually simply hurts, man.”
The Houston rapper’s first headlining concert since Astroworld passed off in August at London’s O2 Enviornment. Earlier this month, Scott was announced as a Rolling Loud headliner at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, on March 4, 2023.
