Colosseum director wants to stop concerts at Circus Maximus

Alfonsina Russo, director of the head of the Colosseum Archeological Park, has called for an end to performances at the Circus Maximus in Italy following Travis Scott‘s recent ‘Utopia’ concert.

• READ MORE: Travis Scott – ‘Utopia’ review: lofty concept, shaky execution

Speaking to CNN following the concert, a representative for Russo revealed that Rome citizens were concerned of an earthquake after they felt the ground shaking from the Travis Scott concert. The Italian fire department also confirmed to CNN that it received “hundreds of calls” over the same concerns.

Now, Russo is campaigning to stop concerts from happening at the Circus Maximus over safety concerns for the public as well as the preservation of the venue. “The Circus Maximus is a monument. It is not a stadium, not a concert hall,” Russo told Italian news service AGI. Her spokesperson later confirmed the comments to CNN.

“These mega rock concerts put it at risk, including the Palatine Hill nearby,” she said. “Rock concerts should be held in stadiums so as not to endanger public safety.”

Besides the concerns of an earthquake, Travis Scott’s Circus Maximus concert also saw over 60 attendees receive medical attention after someone sprayed pepper spray into the crowd, CNN reports. Additionally, a 14-year-old boy who had climbed a false wall at the venue to catch the concert for free was injured after falling from a heigh of four meters.

Travis Scott’s Circus Maximus show followed his scrapped concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt over “production issues”.

In a three-star review of Travis Scott’s recently released ‘Utopia’, NME described the album as a “lofty concept” that’s “shakily executed”, adding: “The Houston rapper’s first album since 2018 teases a brave new sonic world, but has little to say about what might happen if we get there.”

Similarly, Taylor Swift fans caused activity similar to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake during her recent show in Seattle last month. According to an expert, “the shaking was twice as strong” as an event known as ‘Beast Quake’, which occurred in 2011 when Seattle Seahawks fans celebrated a touchdown at an NFL game.