Raves Should Be Allowed At Public Venue, L.A. Coliseum Commission Told
The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission on Friday heard recommendations from a law firm charged with examining issues related to last month's massive Electric Daisy Carnival rave, which included going on with the shows so long as concertgoers are 18 and older, drug-use is policed, and other safety measures are implemented.
Timothy Norris 'EDC' ravers.
The EDC rave drew nearly 160,000 people, according to an estimate given to LA Weekly by Los Angeles police Commander Andy Smith, who oversaw law enforcement at the party. More than 200 medical emergencies and 60 arrests, mostly for drug-related issues, were reported. A 15-year-old who attended the rave died, likely after she took ecstasy.
Video of the event showed ravers gatecrashing and breaching various barriers, with some injury apparent. "Some kids breached the outside to get in," Smith said. "Some were without tickets and some with tickets were doing it just for sport."
The law firm of Miller Barondess made 11 recommendations to the commission, mostly regarding improving safety. The law firm's report noted that 37 electronic music events have taken place at the Coliseum/Sports Arena venues, with more than one million total attendees.
Although a temporary moratorium on raves was instituted by the commission's chief following the teen's death, there's clearly a lot of cash being generated by electronic music fans -- cash that the commission is not likely to give up anytime soon.
"Based on our initial analysis, we believe the Coliseum does and can continue to employ the nation's best practices regarding health and safety in connection with electronic music festivals,'' the report states.
The promoter of EDC, by the way, already agreed to go 18-and-older.
-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us.
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