Woodstock '99
From Invertopedia, the encyclopedia of how things fail
Woodstock '99 was a festival for the 30th anniversary of the original Woodstock, held on the tarmac of a closed air base in Rome, New York[3]. More than 200,000 people paid about $150 a ticket[4][5][6], then found $4 bottles of water in heat above 100 degrees[3][4]. On the last night, fires were set, vendor trailers were looted and burned, and the State Police recalled about 230 troopers to restore order[2][5].
Contents
The bet
The promoters, John Scher and Michael Lang, meant this Woodstock to make money, unlike the one in 1969[3]. The 1994 anniversary festival had been swamped by gatecrashers[7], and Scher had lost money on it[1]. "We're going to try and make a profit on this one," Scher said beforehand[1].
A walled former air base, with a 12-foot steel and plywood fence, would keep out people without tickets[4][7]. The food would be run by vendors who set their own prices[7]. The city of Rome, whose base had closed in 1995, hoped the festival would bring money and lift spirits[8].
What happened
| 1995 | Griffiss Air Force Base closes, costing Rome thousands of jobs.[8] |
|---|---|
| Jul 23, 1999 | Woodstock '99 opens. The two main stages stand more than two miles apart, with tarmac in between.[2][3] |
| Jul 23–25, 1999 | Temperatures pass 100 degrees and the tarmac radiates heat close to 110. Water and soda cost at least $4 a bottle, and there are too few free fountains for the crowd.[2][3][4] |
| Jul 23–25, 1999 | Portable toilets overflow, and raw sewage contaminates the available running water. Hundreds are treated for heatstroke and dehydration.[3] |
| Jul 24, 1999 | During Limp Bizkit's Saturday set, fans tear down parts of a radio tower.[3] |
| Jul 25, 1999, evening | Candles handed out for an anti-gun-violence vigil are used to light bonfires during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' closing set. Plywood ripped from the fence keeps them burning, and an audio tower catches fire.[2][3][4][7] |
| Jul 25–26, 1999 | Vendor trailers are looted and burned, a vehicle is overturned, and ATMs are broken into. The State Police recall about 150 troopers from Troop D and 80 from other troops.[2][5] |
| Jul 22–25, 1999 | Final tally: 44 arrests and 1,200 people admitted to on-site medical facilities. Police investigate four reported rapes.[2][4] |
| Late 1999 | The State Police investigation into the disorder and several reported sexual assaults runs for months.[5] |
| 2020s | An HBO documentary and a Netflix series revisit the festival.[8][9] |
The kill shot
The promoters squeezed the crowd on the basics, water, food, shade and toilets, and cut the security that would have held it together. By the last night, nobody was in control.
To turn a profit, the promoters farmed out food to vendors who could set exorbitant prices and, instead of hiring real security guards, recruited a "peace patrol"[7]. Its members had little training, and many left their posts once the trouble started[8]. Meanwhile the site had almost no shade[4], the toilets overflowed into the running water[3], and the fountains were so overwhelmed that people waiting broke the pipes and made a mud pit[4].
By Sunday the crowd had spent three days on hot tarmac, and thousands of candles had just been handed out for a vigil[3][7]. The State Police said the weekend ran smoothly with few arrests until Sunday evening[5]. What happened next was the bill for three days of treating the crowd as something to be squeezed.
Red flags ignored
- Profit first, said out loud. "We're going to try and make a profit on this one."[1]
- Selling what people need to stay safe. Water at $4 a bottle in 100-degree heat, with too few free fountains.[3][4]
- A venue built for planes, not people. Tarmac, little shade, and stages two miles apart.[2][4]
- Security on the cheap. A recruited peace patrol with little training, in place of real security guards.[7][8]
- Fire handed to an angry crowd. Thousands of lit candles for a vigil on the last night.[3][7]
The cost
Three people died, by History.com's count, and hundreds were treated for heatstroke and dehydration[3]. Police made 44 arrests, 1,200 people were admitted to on-site medical facilities[4], and police investigated four reported rapes[2][4]. TIME later wrote of the dozens of sexual assaults that allegedly happened there[7].
The festival cost $38 million to produce[4]. About 540 State Police members were assigned to it, and on the last night the force recalled almost 150 members of Troop D and 80 from other troops[5]. The week after, Scher told a news conference, "I'm bummed big time"[4].
The inversion
Never profit from the things people need to stay safe at your event. Price water, shade, toilets and security as costs you carry, not as margin, and staff the crowd for its worst night, not its best.
What survived
A long investigation and a long memory. The State Police spent months looking for those responsible for the disorder and the reported sexual assaults, and asked the public for help identifying them[5]. Rome's mayor at the time, Joseph Griffo, later said security should have been handled differently[8]. The festival returned as an HBO documentary and the Netflix series Trainwreck: Woodstock '99[8][9].
References
- ^ “25 Years Ago: Woodstock '99 Goes Down in Flames”. Ultimate Classic Rock (Jeff Giles), 2024. July 22–25 dates, $150 tickets, Scher's earlier losses on Woodstock '94 and his profit quote.
- ^ “Why Woodstock '99 Lost Its Way”. The Saturday Evening Post, July 24, 2019. Dates, Griffiss venue, stages two miles apart, near-110-degree tarmac, $4 minimum for water, too few fountains, fence plywood fires, trailers and a bus burned, ATMs, four rapes investigated.
- ^ “Woodstock '99 begins”. History.com, July 25, 2023 (updated May 28, 2025). Opening on July 23, 30th anniversary, promoters and profit aim, Griffiss venue, heat above 100°F, $4 water, sewage in running water, heatstroke cases, three deaths, Limp Bizkit set, candles and final-night fires.
- ^ “Let's Revisit The Chaos Of Woodstock '99, 'The Day The Music Died'”. HuffPost (Matthew Jacobs), July 23, 2014. About 200,000 attendees, $150 tickets, $38 million production cost, $4 water, 12-foot fence, no shade, broken fountain pipes, 44 arrests, 1,200 medical admissions, four alleged rapes, Scher's quote.
- ^ “Woodstock 1999”. New York State Police. More than 200,000 attendees, about 540 troopers, calm until Sunday evening, trailers looted and burned, vehicle overturned, about 150 + 80 troopers recalled, months-long investigation.
- ^ “What a riot”. Salon (Jeff Stark), July 27, 1999. Crowd of about 200,000 and $150 tickets.
- ^ “Netflix's Woodstock '99 Doc Trainwreck Is Secretly an Origin Story for the War Between Millennials and Boomers”. TIME (Judy Berman), August 4, 2022. $4 water, 1994 gatecrashers, walled venue, profit motive, vendor pricing, peace patrol, vigil candles, ATMs, alleged sexual assaults, Netflix series.
- ^ “Griffo, then-mayor of Rome, reflects on Woodstock '99 25 years later”. Rome Daily Sentinel (Alexis Manore), July 29, 2024. Base closure in 1995, the city's hopes, the untrained Peace Patrol, Griffo on security, the HBO and Netflix documentaries.
- ^ “Carson Daly on Woodstock '99's chaos: 'I thought I was going to die'”. CBS News (Helen Ray), August 13, 2022. The Netflix documentary series.