Astroworld Overcrowded at 55,000+ Attendees & Only 34,000 Tickets Scanned

As lawsuits pile up against Live Nation, Travis Scott, and others involved with the 2021 Astroworld Festival, the question keeps coming up: just how many people were at the concert?

By the time Travis Scott took the stage, it’s estimated that there were over 55,000 people at NRG Park. The venue was considered “sold out” at 50,000. This means that more than 5,000 people gained access to the park who did not have tickets.

But this is just the beginning.

According to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, “We hear that there were 34,000 tickets that were scanned.” He said he would not have exact numbers until authorities saw the ticket manifest.

How did more than 20,000 people gain access to NRG Park without having their tickets scanned? Astroworld was doomed from the beginning because event organizers lost control before the gates even opened. According to logs from the Houston Fire Department, police had requested riot gear by 8:15 a.m. Security was overwhelmed by 9:20 a.m., 40 minutes before the gates were set to officially open.

Just 2 minutes after the gates opened at 10 a.m., Houston Fire Department logs stated, “Venue fences damaged, no control of participants.”

One security guard alleged that he was hired by text message, and there have been reports on social media of security guards “letting people in without any protocol.” With inadequate and/or untrained security officers, it is no wonder that they were overwhelmed so early in the day.

When headliner Travis Scott started performing at about 9:30 p.m., there were just too many people crowded toward the stage. The crowd was so densely packed that fans reported being unable to move or even breathe. Some started passing out. There were reports of “sinkholes” where people were falling on top of one another, with no room to get up. People started dying.

10 young fans lost their lives as a result of the crowd surge at Astroworld on November 5. Hundreds of others were injured. Even those that escaped with their lives are now left dealing with the psychological trauma of being separated from loved ones, being crushed so they could not breathe, and thinking they were going to die.

How Did Astroworld Become So Overcrowded?

Crowd surges like the one at Astroworld happen when too many people are packed together in one place. If there were more than 55,000 people at the Astroworld Festival because security was overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle the number of attendees, this horrific event was inevitable.

Arnold & Itkin's concert injury lawyers are currently representing over 1,000 attendees and families who were affected by the events at Astroworld. We have launched our own investigation into the circumstances that led to the overcrowding at the festival and will not stop until we have answers. We will be doing everything in our power to hold all at-fault parties responsible.

If you were at Astroworld and want to know if you have a case, give us a call. Your consultation is free and confidential, and there’s no obligation: (888) 493-1629.