Botanic Park 5.40pm tonight. A long, slow moving queue which I apparently need to join, even though I've got a prepaid ticket. Such are the regulations.To get in most people needed to
1. Buy a ticket, either (a) in person at the gate on the day, (b) over the internet or (c) from an external ticket seller (VenueTix or Australia Post).
2. If you chose option (a) you didn't have to wait in a long queue and could jump to step 5.
3. If you chose options (b) or (c) you had to join the queue on the right of the photo and wait (I estimate that the people in the photo would have had to wait up to an hour to complete all steps). I gave up and came back after 7pm when it took only (!) half an hour.
4. At the head of the queue you produced your receipt and "event key" (a kind of smart card - why is this necessary?) and waited for this to be scanned into a computer and generate a barcoded wristband. People who'd booked over the internet had to wait for an event key to be manufactured, then scanned to produce their wristband. In my case the salesperson disappeared for about 5 minutes before returning with the wristband.
5. Join another (thankfully shorter) queue for a bag search (many things are forbidden including glass, alcohol and "long lenses")
6. Have your wristband validated by a scanner. You could then enter the venue.
Womadelaide is a longstanding and successful "community event" (as the signs on Hackney Rd state). The average age of the audience might have increased over time but people still appear to be extremely tolerant of organisational shortcomings such as queuing delays, poor facilities (eg insufficient toilets to cater for the ageing audience), limited shade, and nannystate rules for the paying customers (eg no "long lenses" or glass bottles unless you pay for the latter over the top + $10 deposit), and wristbands "void if removed". The only disputes which cause a ripple of discontent are those over where to draw the line between the seated and the standing to see the performances. These are invariably resolved by a pragmatic consensus along the lines of I want to sit and hear: you want to stand, see and hear; but we both want to hear (so sit down, or stand up, and shut up). Police or security never need to intervene. I reckon it would have to be one of the cushiest police postings available (and is paid overtime too).
All the administrative bumbling has further dented SA's reputation. Many of the people queueing with me were interstate or overseas visitors who had bought their tickets over the internet. They must think that Adelaide is a real hick town if we can't make access easier than this (or perhaps the English among them think this is a practice run for making it difficult for their cricket supporters for the test match later this year). The staff on duty tonight were superficially civil but most of those I came in contact with had no idea of what they were supposed to do. Who trained them? Their task was made far more difficult by the need to generate wristbands and sometimes event keys on the spot, which added to the delays.
I did go to the information booth and put my issues in writing (in an exercise book) , together with my name and contact details . I won't expect a response but I'd like to know if others have had similar experiences at Womadelaide or other events. I believe that too many people have been too passive for too long about being treated like cattle at events and processing points such as airports. There may be a last be a little more hope for the second class citizens who stoically stand and wait: the issue now being picked up by pro-democracy groups such as Open Democracy : see this for an example.
But will anyone be held accountable and, more important, will changes be made to give those who wait a fairer go?
2 comments:
If Paul Kelly and Joe Camilleri knew what the audience members had to go through, I'm sure they'd be upset. It must be a sign of the times.
Yes, there are a lot of spurious reasons for making people jump through hoops (or wear wristbands) to get in and to forbid them from bringing in their own bottled or canned drinks. Did you know that you can buy wine by the (glass) bottle but only if you pay a $10 deposit on the bottle. You can't buy a glass to drink out of though: only plastic "glasses" are allowed. I expect that a lot of this stupidity will in the absence of complaints spread to other events such as the Commonwealth Games.
As for the performances, Paul Kelly and his band were good but I was sorry to miss all except the last couple of minutes of Miriam Makeba.
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