Coachella is a 26-year-old music festival well known for its huge music lineups, celebrity appearances and viral events. Gaining popularity through influencer culture, the idea of just being there seems like a luxury. Though there is one aspect that isn’t included in the videos you see everywhere: the lines. Many people spend a huge chunk of their day simply waiting at admission gates, bathrooms, food trucks and hydration stations, clearly taking away from the glitz and glamour of it all.
Lots of festival attendees have reported standing in lines for necessities like food and drink for at least 30-60 minutes, not to mention the lines for onsite camping. People waited for this luxury for 7+ hours. As well as this, long, sluggish lines also appear at entry and security checkpoints, particularly during high arrival periods. The shuttle lines take more than an hour at night, and some people wait even longer to return to their hotels or campsites. Long delays without easy access to water can be dangerous in a festival setting where temperatures can get over 90°F.
For a festival that charges over $500 for general admission, this is outrageous. Although Coachella may appear lovely on Instagram, the actual event can be a sweltering, unpleasant mess of lineups, misunderstandings and lost opportunities. How is it possible for an event with billions of dollars in sponsorships and a stellar reputation to yet miss the fundamentals? Anyone attending is entitled to comfort and ease, not just a highlight reel. At the moment, it seems more like an expensive stamina test rather than a music festival. If organizers truly cared, they would look at the logistics of the festival over the flawless image.
Despite this, Coachella has the ability to get better. Wait times can be greatly decreased by hiring more staff and adding more hydration and food stations. Also, improved crowd control may also be possible with clever layout designs and updates through the app.
This can make Coachella a smoother and pleasurable event for all attendees. However, in order to do so, organizers must put the fan experience first. Nobody purchases tickets to a festival to sit in lines for hours. The waiting should be secondary to the show.
