Coachella, Lollapalooza Ban Selfie Sticks
If you’re all amped up for the American music festival season, it’s a good idea to brush up on what you’re allowed to take in — this year both Coachella (Indio, California, April 10-12, 17-19) and Lollapalooza (Grant Park, Chicago, July 31-August 2) have banned the divisive selfie stick.
According to Coachella’s Rules and Policies, there are to be “no selfie sticks/narcissistics” brought into the festival on the two weekends on which it is to take place, while Lollapalooza’s FAQ notes that “GoPro attachments like sticks, selfie sticks & monopods” are not allowed.
Interestingly, the former’s wording seems to suggest the ban is simply because the festival doesn’t like the sort of person who uses selfie sticks. By contrast, the latter seems a bit more practical — selfie sticks are grouped in with other attachments that could raise a camera above the heads of a crowd, sneaking photos and footage of the performances.
Coachella and Lollapalooza are not alone in this: earlier this year, the camera accessory was banned from Australia’s Soundwave festival and several UK music venues including the O2 Arena, SSE Wembley Arena and O2 Academy Brixton.
And the reasoning thereof seems eminently sensible: Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah told Fairfax that selfie sticks obscured the view for other people in the crowd, noting that after 40 or 50 selfie sticks appeared in Melbourne, the festival would not tolerate their presence at Brisbane and Sydney. Meanwhile, the UK venues gave NME similar reasons — adding that filming and photographing performances violated their existing policies.
Bonaroo (Manchester, Tennessee, June 11-14), Governors Ball (Randall’s Island Park, New York City, June 5-7) and Sasquatch (Quincy, Washington state, May 22-25) have yet to declare an opinion on selfie sticks.
Via Brooklyn Vegan.
Related articles
Fright at the museum: Selfie sticks banned at the Smithsonian
Is it ever OK to use the much-derided selfie stick? I argue yes
For all the hottest tech news and gadget reviews, follow Yahoo Tech on Facebook here!
