Billie Eilish Stops Concert To Save Fans
Billie Eilish is not afraid to stop a concert mid-performance if people are in trouble out there in the crowd.
Music concerts are often the greatest events anyone can enjoy. They can, however, be dangerous if large crowds can’t be kept under control in a safe manner. With crowd safety at the forefront of her mind, young pop superstar Billie Eilish stopped her concert midway to ensure the safety of a larger group of fans, the BBC reports.
Billie Eilish was performing at the O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday 11 June, the second of six dates at the venue as part of her Happier Than Ever World Tour when she stopped mid-concert to check in on her adoring fans. Eilish asked; “Are you all ok? “People were fainting and getting pulled out. It’s hot, I know”. When fans replied that they were feeling squished, a common problem for those packed near the stage at any concert, Eilish made sure the performance wouldn’t continue until members of the audience were afforded the necessary space to enjoy her music comfortably, telling everyone in the crowd; “Take a step back, give everybody some space.
From the get-go on Saturday night on a weekend that had seen some great summer weather in England, Billie Eilish was keen to make sure the crowd was protected and had asked the venue to distribute water bottles throughout the audience. The audience themselves also took safety into their own hands at one point, alerting security personnel when a member of the audience required medical attention. The incident was resolved in a positive manner and Eilish made sure to thank the security and staff involved.
Billie Eilish may be one of the youngest singers touring the world right now, but her actions on Saturday night clearly show she is mature way beyond her years. Her actions were reflective of previous shows that Eilish has put on Stateside, a fact the BBC were quick to point out in their report, citing incidents at Atlanta and NYC’s Madison Square Garden back in February. In the first incident in Atlanta, Eilish stopped her concert and waited to get the performance going again once security managed to get an inhaler to a fan who was suffering to breathe during the concert. In the second incident, that came at Madison Square Garden, Eilish encouraged fans to sit down, relax and take a breather as well as ensuring everyone had the necessary space to enjoy the show.
Concert safety has surged to the forefront of the music industry’s consciousness, following the tragic events at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert last year that saw several concertgoers lose their lives following a crowd-crushing fiasco. The sorry events from that day had such a profound effect on the music community that Hulu was forced to pull their documentary about the concert due to an outcry from fans. That Astroworld concert also has a connection to the Atlanta Billie Eilish performance, for following Eilish’s actions to get the aforementioned inhaler to one of her fans, Kanye West called the No Time to Die singer out for targeting Travis Scott with her comments. Teen Vogue reported that Kanye turned to Instagram to ask Billie Eilish to apologize to Travis Scott, as he believed her words at the Atlanta concert (“I wait for people to be okay before I keep going”) were directed at Scott. Eilish responded on Instagram by saying: “literally never said a thing about Travis was just helping a fan.”
