What Went Wrong at Woodstock 99? An Event Planner's Perspective
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If you are a Netflix-and-Chill-er like me, you likely have seen the new documentary series Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 popping up on your queue. If you also are an “elderly millennial” (yuck, am I right?) like me, you probably also remember being so very jealous of everyone who got to attend the event, and see bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Wyclef, Kid Rock, Fatboy Slim and more.
When I wrote the Fyre Festival recaps a few years ago, so many people were interested in an event planner’s perspective that I thought I’d bring it back.
One common thread between both angles of this story is how much I can see our current cultural conversations reflected in the attitudes of the attendees, as well as the organizers. I can also see how events like Burning Man, seemingly the opposite of the capitalist nightmare that was Woodstock ‘99, have thrived since.
Today I’ll be recapping using my notes from the Netflix series, because it seemed to me to show a lot more from the internal planning team’s perspective, and I could see a little more where it all went wrong.
The bad news? It was, at least in one corner, all wrong from the start.
Misaligned Goals & Objectives: As I’ve said ad nauseum before, if you are not clear on your goals and objectives for the event, you are missing that GPS system that tells you if you are navigating your logistical plans in the right direction.
It was clear from watching this movie that the goals and objectives of the planning committee consisted of one item and one item only: Making a profit.
They had been burned when trying to put together a Woodstock ‘94 show, and attendees broke down the barrier and eliminated the ability for security to check tickets. It was a disaster from a profit perspective.
Lack of Care for Attendee Experience: In events, your stakeholders are vast, and each one plays a different role in the success of the event. As I see it, the stakeholder types for an event like Woodstock are as follows: attendees; planning committee; venue; talent; sponsors; vendors; community partners; local and national media; day-of event crews; volunteers. When planning teams have profitability as the first thing on their mind, each decision can take them further and further away from providing the experience they promised their ticketholders.
Taking Away Customer’s Water Bottles at Check-In: I see where they were going with it in terms of (possibly) safety concerns, however the only reason that a sealed water bottle wouldn’t be allowed onto festival grounds is greed, period.
Lack of Safety Plan & Security: Reportedly, 18-year-olds were paid $500 for the weekend to “keep the peace.” I can’t even begin with this one, honestly.
Uncomfortable Grounds: See below
Improper Venue: The Griffiss Air Force Base in New York was an improper choice for a festival like this for many reasons. The organizer thought that it would work because it was profitable and everything was in one place—so much so that they pushed back when the Board disagreed. If the organizers had their ticketholders’ comfort in mind, instead of profitability, my guess is it would not have been chosen. Here are the reasons it should have been clear it was the incorrect venue:
Lack of natural shade: Absolutely zero consideration was given for hot weather, particularly as they set up vending and camping areas around the event.
Abundance of blacktop: When the temperatures rise, this venue holds heat naturally, making it much more difficult to cool down a group of hundreds of thousands
Lack of accessibility: With events like this, you don’t want it to be too easy to access, but there had to have been options.
Lack of existing infrastructure: It may not have been as bad as the Fyre Festival, but the team certainly spent a lot of time and resources building the infrastructure needed to support this event.
Vendor MisManagement: The food and beverage vendor for the event was given carte blanche to create menus, develop and change pricing, and staff as they saw fit. This decision was made because it was the cheaper route. As a result, the hotter and more inhumane the conditions, the more expensive things like bottles of water ($12 in some cases) became, and the less that the organizers could do about it.
Lineup: I am not here to blame the musicians for the failings of a committee to have a proper plan (and backup plan, and backup-backup plan) in place. With that being said, the lineup played an interesting role in the way the event played out—the more time that had passed, the more angry the crowd became with the inhumane treatment and unmanaged expectations of the event. When a band like Limp Bizkit, for example, sings a song like “Break Stuff,” expecting the frontrunner to tell the crowd to calm down is like standing in Walt Disney World and screaming at everyone not to smile.
Day Drinking + No Water + All-Day Concert + All-Night Rave: Again, what were they thinking?
Lack of Safety: Besides the rent-a-security policies, there seemed to be no policies in place for monitoring or reporting sexual assault. As a result, many individuals reported being assaulted in plain sight with no assistance from security.
General Lack of Awareness of Your Audience: The organizers of the event were out of touch with the realities of the audience they attracted, and that was clear in all aspects of the event.
Mismanaged Expectations: In an effort to make sure all festivalgoers stayed around for the close of the event, the organizers began circulating rumors that there was a surprise closing act—even going so far as to announce it in a press conference.
OK, so this is all really terrible and I cannot imagine standing there as an organizer watching this all unfold. But, THE SINGLE DECISION THAT I STILL CAN’T WRAP MY HEAD AROUND?
…Giving your already-angry, alcohol-and-rage-fueled crowd actual candles during the final song, which is also when they will find out that the “surprise act” is a lie. (I’m telling you, you really have to watch!)
These are just some of the glaring errors that stood out to me as I watched—and as a former Communications major, I could speak all day about the cultural implications of this event and the ways in which the lack of care for attendees—and hyper-focus on the celebrities in the artist’s area—reflected the attitudes of the time, but I’ll leave you to watch and learn for yourself.
As with the Fyre documentaries (Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Fyre Fraud), I still absolutely recommend watching the Woodstock Documentary in Full (and, if you want even more content, watch Woodstock 99, Peace Love and Rage on HBO Max).