Climate change
How organizers prepare for concert cancellations due to extreme weather
This time the metal open-air festival in Wacken was noticed due to constant rain with muddy terrain, traffic jams and entry stops.
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Events are repeatedly canceled because extreme weather events come along. Heavy rain, storms, thunderstorms. They are becoming more and more common due to climate change. How organizers prepare for this.
Now Taylor Swift also had to cancel a concert due to climatic conditions. It felt like 58 degrees in Rio de Janeiro. “The safety and well-being of my fans, my colleagues and team members are our top priority,” the singer posted on her Instagram page. The concert has been postponed to an unspecified date.
Scenarios like this are becoming increasingly likely, including in Germany. This is also related to climate change. “The summer thunderstorms have become stronger. We are not only observing this in the lightning, the winds in the thunderstorm fronts have also increased,” says Frank Böttcher, chairman of the German Meteorological Society and extreme weather expert.
Open-air concerts and festivals are particularly affected
This is a particular risk for open-air concerts and festivals. This has to be taken into account in the preparations. The organizer Karsten Jahnke Concert Directorate said in an interview with the star: “It’s not just the rain radar that’s enough. We work with local services. In Hamburg, for example, with the airport weather service. They also track data on wind speeds.”
When planning, not only the time spent on site at the event must be taken into account, but also the duration of arrival and departure. And this should always be possible safely. For fans and for the bands. What is needed is an exact forecast for four to five hours of a day. Many insurers who assume the default risk for open-air concerts now insist on this, says Frank Böttcher. Severe weather conditions must be booked as an additional component to the usual cancellation insurance for an event.
There are emergency plans for concerts and open airs that are individually adapted to each event and documented in a security concept, which is then called the “escape and communication concept”. “As a rule, concerts are canceled if there is a risk that regular operations of the event cannot be maintained and there is a risk to the life and limb of the performing artists, crew and visitors,” explains the Karsten Jahnke Concert management.
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The fans’ expectations have become ever greater
This was also confirmed by Johannes Everke, managing director of the Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry star: “Extreme weather phenomena have increased in quantity and quality over the last few years. At the same time, the shows – whether open-air or festival – have become ever greater, as have fans’ expectations of the overall experience. These two phenomena present event organizers with new challenges.”
Measures such as sufficient shade and an adequate supply of drinking water, storm-proof structures or securing the terrain are becoming increasingly important. “The Wacken Open Air team acted very responsibly and far-sighted last summer, for example when they limited the number of fans traveling and secured the area in various ways – even though the financial damage caused could possibly be in the double-digit million range.”