‘Trafikkaos’ At Bon Jovi Show

A Bon Jovi show on a former country estate near Randers in Denmark caused traffic chaos and left the promoter and the local police arguing over who was responsible for hundreds of people missing the show.

The snarl-up was so bad that some of the U.S. rockers’ fans complained about taking more than four hours to drive the 24 kilometres from Randers to the 30,000-capacity Messepladsen site at Gammel Estrup, according to local media reports.

Others waited up to six hours for shuttle buses that never came and one angry fan reportedly collected signatures for a protest petition while waiting in the queue.

Under a heading saying "Trafikkaos forud for Bon Jovi-koncert" – or "Bon Jovi Concert Causes Traffic Chaos" – newspaper Ekstra Bladet quoted Østjyllands-area police spokesman Jesper Bøjgaard saying his force was still receiving calls from people stuck in jams for at least an hour after the show had started.

Two days after the June 19 concert, a police spokesman told R4 radio listeners that the promoters were to blame because the road infrastructure around the Randers site isn’t appropriate for handling the sort of traffic created by a huge concert.

Matters were made worse by a new DIY discount warehouse opening in the same area on the same day, attracting thousands of bargain hunters looking to save on home improvements.

"Have you ever known the police to admit they made a mistake?" said Leif Bressum from MAB, the local sports club that promoted the Randers show.

He told Pollstar that the police didn’t raise any concerns over traffic throughout the entire licensing process and object to the concert on any grounds.

"We run the show and they should be running the traffic," he said, adding that he has "no right to do anything about cars in Denmark."

He said he feels "heartbroken" for those who bought a ticket and didn’t get to see any of the show – a number he estimates between 300 and 500 people. He said the local club’s lawyers are sifting through their complaint letters.

The show was part of a three-date Scandinavian run that Copenhagen-based ICO did in cooperation with tour promoter AEG, whose London office declined to comment on the Danish fiasco.

The June 16 show ICO promoted at the 44,000-capcacity Helsinki Olympic Stadium sold out and so did the 34,000-capacity Olso Ullevall Stadion (June 18), which was co-promoted by Norway’s Atomic Agency.