Security at upcoming Ellis Park concerts is likely to determine South Africa’s ability to attract big acts in the future. But, with one week to go before Roxette takes the stage, no arrangements have been finalised yet. Pat Sidley reports
DON’T feel too secure about the major rock concerts scheduled to take place in the next few weeks at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park stadium. As the Weekly Mail & Guardian went to press this week, there were a few plans in the pipeline for security but nothing had been finalised.
There were plans on drawing boards and meetings galore — but nobody could give the WM&G a clear picture of the measures that will be taken because nobody knows what they are. To make matters worse, Ellis Park has closed for the Christmas period and will only reopen for business next week. Work on a security fence appears to have halted for the holidays.
Roxette will be first out of the starting gate next week, followed late in February by the Rolling Stones and in March by Phil Collins. If problems surface at any of these concerts — as they did at last year’s Whitney Houston concert, where muggings were rife despite the presence of 250 police — it will be almost impossible to attract a star-quality act back to this country.
Promoters have been at great pains to allay public fears for safety at the concerts and have claimed that firm arrangements have been made as part of their contractual obligations to their clients. But this would appear to be some way from the truth.
Less than 10 days before Roxette opens at Ellis Park (the band arrived this week), police had not been formally contacted to meet promoters and thrash out arrangements for security at the concert.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Kobus Peche, operations officer for the Johannesburg district, police will not be in the grounds of Ellis Park unless specifically requested. Usually, he said, there was a joint meeting between police and all those involved in a concert or sporting event to sort out what was needed. This meeting had not yet taken place, nor had he been given notice of one — although he expected it would take place.
Peche said security was more difficult to organise at Ellis Park than at the FNB stadium, which he said was safer; but white rock concert-goers in the main did not want to go to FNB.
Roddy Quin of Big Concerts, which is bringing out both Roxette and Collins, seemed irritated by the news that a security fence supposedly erected around Ellis Park was incomplete and that Ellis Park’s management was still in holiday mode. He and his media representative had told the WM&G to contact Ellis Park, where the arrangments had been made. He called back later to say work on the fence would resume next week.
The Johannesburg Traffic Department has deployed some 48 officers who will man roadblocks and check traffic – – and are expected to deal with the problems likely to be caused by the expected 75 000 Roxette fans at the concert.
Hazel Feldman, who is co-promoting the Rolling Stones concert, and whose advance publicity suggested plans had been wrapped up and presented to the Rolling Stones management, said it was far too early to have actual arrangements in place. However, she and a private security company had a 400-page manual in preparation, and meetings were under way. Much hinges on the smooth running of the Roxette concert, said Jeff Stern of Computicket; if it didn’t, the Rolling Stones concert would become a problem — and the country could kiss goodbye to the prospects of stars of the magnitude of Collins or the Stones coming out in the future. The problem may not be as serious as it seems: the concerts appeal largely to white audiences who may have reached spending saturation point — so the stadium might not be as full as promoters hope. While most of the more expensive seats at the Rolling Stones concerts were sold in the initial rush, the two concerts have not been sold out, although it is expected Ellis Park will be full by the time they take place.
Much the same picture applies to the Collins concert; the promoters are now advertising extensively.
* Several other acts are expected in the country in the near future, but they will use much smaller venues. Uriah Heep and Deep Purple will use the 6 000-seat amphitheatre at Nasrec, the Saambou Arena in Pretoria and the Village Green in Durban as they travel the country on their double bill.