Woodstock 99 Calamity, Showcased in 33 Photos depicting Disarray and Devastation
Woodstock 99, a music festival held from July 22-25, 1999, at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York, was marked by sexual assault, property destruction, and manmade infernos that necessitated riot police. Over 220,000 people attended, making Rome the third-largest city in the state temporarily.
The lineup for the festival included big names such as Limp Bizkit, Alanis Morissette, The Offspring, The Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crowe, James Brown, Kid Rock, DMX, and others. However, the event was a stark contrast to the cohesive lineup of the original Woodstock Festival.
The festival was marred by several incidents of chaos and unrest. During the closing set by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, aggravated fans lit bonfires that turned into several infernos. Crowd members overturned cars and set them on fire. People ransacked and looted vendor booths, tearing down merchandise and walls before burning the wreckage.
The air at the festival site smelled of burning garbage, urine, and feces. A 1.5 mile walk between the two main stages across sweltering tarmac led to many people fainting from heat exhaustion. Organizers left attendees to combat 100-degree temperatures atop a tarmac runway on their own.
The security forces at Woodstock '99 were insufficient due to poor crowd control measures and inadequate safety protocols. Dangerous crowd density, minimal and unqualified security personnel, and organizational failures, such as ignoring warnings about potential violence and overcrowding risks, led to riots and assaults during the event.
By the end of the weekend, only half the security staff remained, many of whom had joined the rioting crowd. Only 44 people were arrested during the festival. Multiple sexual assaults and rapes went unchecked, and 700 people suffered heat exhaustion.
The site of Woodstock 99 was a 1.5-mile long cesspit of mud, burnt plywood, human waste, and trash after the festival. The festival was also notorious for the high cost of water - $4 water bottles led to fiery tempers. One person even drove a truck through the audience during Fatboy Slim's set.
One of the only performers who had actually played the original Woodstock, John Entwistle, the bassist for The Who, was relegated to the "Emerging Artists" stage. Despite the chaos, Woodstock 99 remains a significant event in music festival history, serving as a cautionary tale about the importance of proper planning, crowd control, and safety measures.
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