Events body drafting protocols to avoid another Trevor fiasco

An event management body in Bengaluru is drafting a list of protocols for 300 of its members to avoid a repeat of what happened with comedian Trevor Noah’s much-anticipated shows in the city last week.

The Bengaluru leg of Trevor’s world tour was cancelled over poor acoustics at a Nagavara venue. While organisers, both Mumbai-based BookMyShow and Trevor’s international team, were criticised for not doing due diligence, netizens also mocked the city for failing as a tech capital. 

The need for a checklist was felt after musician A R Rahman’s concert in Chennai was pilloried for poor audio, lack of chairs, and creating a stampede-like situation. Some women claimed they were groped. The cancellation of Trevor’s gig just 18 days later expedites the need for course correction, says Nimesh Chagg, founding member of Bangalore Wedding Fraternity, whose members have organised everything from sports tournaments to corporate shows and international concerts.

The checklist will outline over 20 rules of event management, including doing soil checks for open-air shows.

Giving a peek into some of these rules, Nimesh begins, “BookMyShow is a ticketing platform. It is the duty of the event manager to tell them how much a venue can comfortably accommodate on the ground. If a venue can hold 5,000 people, put out tickets for 90% of the capacity. You need to factor in space for the events and security staff and their friends and media persons.”

Getting hundreds of people together calls for drawing up emergency plans. “We have to prepare a fire exit plan, a plan for parking, and a plan for when a stampede happens or if it rains. We need to keep the local police in the loop. We need to figure out the number of ambulances to keep on standby,” he observes.

Traffic notwithstanding, Nimesh says he can’t process why Trevor reached the venue late. “If the show is at 5 pm, artistes must reach by 2.30 pm maximum. Their team and local managers must get them to the venue ahead of time for sound and other checks,” he adds. The checklist is currently in the works and will be shared with members internally and non-members on social media by the end of October.

‘Bengaluru’s image takes a hit’

The Trevor Noah debacle has hit Bengaluru’s image as an events destination for the time being. Nimesh says, “Outstation partners are asking local event managers to re-check arrangements for upcoming shows. They are asking for video and photo proofs.” Bengaluru needs to bounce back or it may lose out on international acts, he feels. “We don’t have a venue like Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse that can accommodate 50,000 people. Bengaluru’s biggest venues can take in 25,000 people,” he adds.