Boston Calling Makes Safety, Security Improvements for 2025 Music Festival
Organizers for Boston Calling, a three-day music festival, have announced several changes aimed at addressing safety and security concerns that arose during last year’s event.
In an Instagram post released by Boston Calling on Thursday, Jan. 2, festival organizers detailed the improvements that will be implemented at the Harvard Athletic Complex during the event scheduled for May 23-25, 2025.
- Lowered ticket costs
- A world-class rotating stage system that merges the Green and Red stages and promises to deliver better views, more space to roam, and an enhanced audio-visual experience
- Return of an air-conditioned indoor arena with indoor programming
- More water stations throughout the venue to keep guests hydrated during events
- A new, improved site map of the venue
These enhancements come after attendees of the 2024 festival sounded off about overcrowding and safety at the Harvard Athletic Complex, particularly on the last day of the festival.
“It felt unsafe and it was so like just congested everywhere. It was really hard to get like air and just get like a break from the crowds,” Sarah Mundy, who attended the festival, said to NBC10 Boston at the time. “When people make that kind of investment, to spend their money that way, they deserve to have like a safe experience where they’re not having a panic attack.”
Mundy also said the lack of logistical organization to the festival led to long wait times at water bottle refilling stations and food vendors.
A Boston EMS spokesperson told NBC10 Boston that medical services providers had close to 800 medical response calls during the three days, with 23 patients transported to hospitals for treatment.
In a post-event 2024 Instagram post, Boston Calling organizers said, “While attendee count was several thousand below the official capacity,” they vowed to work to improve the overall guest experience for future events.
