On Monday (August 7), Travis Scott performed one of his biggest shows since the notorious 2021 Astroworld Festival, where 10 attendees died from a crowd surge gone wrong. Taking place at the Circus Maximus venue in Rome, Italy, Scott’s concert saw him perform most of the songs off his new album UTOPIA, released on July 28. However, while not nearly as devastating as Astroworld, this show too caused some headlines regarding fan safety.
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First, around the time in the set where Scott brought out Kanye West to perform songs “Praise God” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” the environment of the venue was so raucous that nearby Roman residents made calls to the local fire department suggesting that there was an earthquake happening, TMZ reported. While the ground shaking was instead caused by fans in the crowd jumping up and down, a Twitter user and seismologist by the name of Giovanni Diaferia insisted that the event was equal to a mild 1.3 magnitude earthquake, which could be observed from up to nine kilometers away.
Because of this, Director of the Colosseum Archeological Park Alfonsina Russo urged for Circus Maximus to no longer hold concerts, and instead preserve the venue for operas and ballets.
“The Circus Maximus is a monument. It is not a stadium, not a concert hall,” she said in a statement obtained by CNN. “These mega rock concerts put it at risk, including the Palatine Hill nearby… Rock concerts should be held in stadiums so as not to endanger public safety.”
Along with the literal rumbling going on beneath people’s feet, Monday’s concert also saw nearly 60 people complain of eye and throat irritation, as it is believed somebody in attendance may have unleashed pepper spray at some point in the show, according to Italian news outlet ANSA.
On top of all of this, CNN learned that a 14-year-old who did not have tickets to the show attempted to scale up a 13-foot wall to observe the performance from a distance. But, he would end up falling and injuring himself, though it is not believed to be serious at the moment.
While each of Monday’s incidents seems minor, all of them adding up and culminating into a story about safety concerns is likely not reassuring for Scott and his team, who recently settled a third lawsuit with the family of an Astroworld victim.
Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN
