“You Wish You Were Here,” the popular slogan used by Travis Scott to promote his Astroworld music festival, has not held true after 10 died and hundreds were injured at the event on Nov. 5. The festival was supposed to be a two-day event, however, after the tragedy, the second night was canceled.

There were over 50,000 people who attended night one, and images show people pressed up against each other to a point where they could not move. Once Scott started performing, a mosh pit formed and people were pulled inward creating a crowd surge. People were being trampled, yet, nothing was done to stop the concert.

When things started to get out of control, attendees and Scott’s executives made it a priority to alert Scott while he was performing. Despite these cries for help from the crowd, Scott continued to perform and nobody physically stopped him from doing so.

Scott went to Twitter after the tragedy to say, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.”

Despite the 17 lawsuits already against Scott for this event, he never actually took accountability. It seemed like he had multiple chances to stop the concert, but chose not to.

This is not the first time Scott is facing a lawsuit for his concerts, making this all the more concerning. The first claims were filed after his Astroworld Festival in 2017. According to time. com, “He encouraged fans to jump from a balcony at a New York venue and was sued by Kyle Green, a fan who fell from a balcony during the concert and became paralyzed.” He has continued to ignore the threat his concerts pose and, in again 2019, three fans were critically injured in a crowd frenzy at one of his concerts. Considering all of these events, Scott should have been more prepared this time around.

Astroworld Festival 2021 was over-crowded and a predictable tragedy. According to complex.com, a concert attendee reported that “way more people than were supposed to be [in attendance] were there,” and this was
because, “the only thing stopping fans [from entering] were some weak walls and cones…they had everyone hold up their wristbands…but throughout the concert, that wristband became irrelevant.” There are many ways for Scott, and other artists, to ensure the safety of their fans in the future.

Another big issue at Scott’s concert was that attendees were not allowing emergency vehicles to get in. According to the nytimes.com, concertgoers were jumping on top of ambulances and shoving EMS personnel. There should always be an evacuation plan to prevent injuries, despite large crowds.

In the future, musicians should have better security to make sure every guest has a ticket before letting them in. If the issue lies in ticket sales, artists can limit the number of tickets sold to ensure beforehand that the crow does not get out of hand. Additionally, having an age limit of who can attend without a parent or guardian should be put into place considering many of those who attended were minors.

Astroworld is not an isolated incident. We, as a society, need to view this event as a precedent on how not to act and everyone involved should work towards revising safety and security measures for future festivals. The buzz surrounding large artists and popular music festivals needs to stop coming before people’s safety.