Herded, not managed: Going to live concerts in India is like going to battle

India's young, affluent ready to shell out cash for entertainment. The country, not so much

- Rohini Mohan

BENGALURU - I love music, but I have never attended a live concert in India, where I live.

What's cool about being stuck in a crowd of 3,000 for six hours from entry to exit without easy access to water and a toilet?

Not everyone thinks like me, as is evidenced in India's booming concert economy, and the sold-out shows of international stars like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, U2, Dua Lipa, Maroon 5, Sting, the Jonas Brothers and Cigarettes After Sex in the past five years.

More global pop and rock stars are including India in their itinerary. Home-grown Indian musicians are staging world-class acts.

No longer content with just cricket and Bollywood movies, affluent Indians with deeper pockets than ever before are looking to splurge on entertainment and live events.

With increasing demand for live experiences and music festivals the world over, the global concert economy is projected to reach US$31 billion (S$41.4 billion) by 2026. In India, the growing industry took in an estimated revenue of 8 billion rupees (S$123.4 million) in 2024, and also gave the hospitality, food and transportation sectors a boost.

But groufies posted on social media and economic projections hide one inconvenient truth: Most concertgoers in India must still endure terrible conditions.

The authorities take a heavy-handed approach to crowd management at concerts. The system seems to have one common motto: "No fun allowed." People are herded, not managed.

Order is sought by limiting mobility: People must stay behind barriers, enter and exit through only one gate, and can leave only at a fixed time.

Organisers told me that as people pour out in their thousands after the concert, officials sometimes unofficially blocked internet access as a crowd-control measure, and to prevent cab-hailing that would jam the exit roads.

Another gripe: Information on which roads are cordoned off around the venue is often released at the last minute.