As Miami Music Week prepares to conclude with Ultra Music Festival, those running the show must make efforts to control the flood of concert goers. Considering that last year’s fiasco resulted in the hospitalization of security guard Erica Mack and a subsequent lawsuit, some changes are being implemented to prevent any future issues.
To demonstrate from the outset an increased focus on security, Ultra Festival hired Ray Martinez, the former Miami Beach Chief of Police, to run the operations. And he’s ramping up the protection. To begin, over 300 police officers are being employed to monitor the event—and that’s not even counting the undercover officers.
Furthermore, in a change from previous years, all ticketing was managed electronically. While this decision was made in order to reduce the amount of scalping outside of the show, the effectiveness of this practice in reducing ticket resale remains to be seen.
The biggest change, however, lies in the management of the event’s perimeter. Previously controlled by a hastily constructed fence, the border security has become a veritable barricade. 12-foot fences are plastered with plywood, and supported to prevent another disaster—and lawsuit.
These measures are by no means totalitarian, but they’re not trivial either. As EDM marches into the mainstream, so too does it leave behind any semblance of laxity around any events. Let us know your opinion on this paradigm shift on Facebook and Twitter!
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