Good planning is key, but so is a mature audience

GURGAON: Is Gurgaon capable of hosting concerts, especially ones involving international artistes?

This was the question doing the rounds of the city on Tuesday. Probably the better question would be this: what steps do organizers need to take to make sure that every concert here is, as far as possible, free of organizational and logistical chaos, and a fun evening out for everyone? Speaking to organizers of festivals in India, there's clearly much that Gurgaon can learn when it comes to looking after matters like security and controlling crowds.

For clearly, Gurgaonites are a well-travelled bunch, proud to host global acts like Skrillex, Guns N' Roses and Snoop Dogg (they'd also like to avoid chaotic scenes such as those witnessed at a cancelled Metallica gig some years back).

The Jaipur Literature Festival might be the other side of the coin, a huge jamboree that attracts many thousands every January. But the organizers have plenty of hosting experience under their belts, experience that smaller events might find valuable. "It would be unfair to compare the Jaipur Literature Festival with a one-off concert but it is important that you have everything in place," said Sanjoy Roy of Teamwork Arts, JLF's organizers.

"The security measures we take have been thought through over the years. And they have to be elaborate because we gets tens of thousands of people attending our festival. And we work with many levels of security but we also have our own security," reveals Roy.

"And when it comes to crowd control, we have a system that is able to keep track of the number of people coming in. These are all vital bits of information that we need to handle the crowds, because it can become a crush, especially on weekends," he adds.

The Storm Festival, which takes place in Coorg, is known for leaving no stone unturned when it comes to ensuring security. According to Lavin Uthappa, festival director, Storm, and MD, Liquidspace Entertainment Pvt Ltd, "Security indeed plays a very significant role in producing a large-scale destination music festival such as Storm. We have three main factors among others at Storm, which are non-negotiable at any cost - security, and keeping the festival drug free and eco-friendly. In order to ensure a peaceful vibe as well as reiterate the message of 'No drugs' at Storm, we have a double layered security procedure."

Meanwhile, Abhishek Mehta - CEO, Scoop Brand Holdings Pvt Ltd - reveals that for every event Scoop plans, each of the following "key" elements must be taken into account: number of people, size of venue, ease of ingress and egress, and size and number of entries.

"There are industry principles and international case studies available to everyone planning such events, however, experience as well plays a huge role in managing such events."

Above all, a responsible and mature audience only adds to the experience of a well-organized gig. A few in this neck of the woods might not be conversant with concert-going etiquette, but it's entirely possible to have a great time without crossing the line.