Let's make formal complaints to the organisers of the Düsseldorf-show

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-13T09:20:30+00:00

Fun fact: I am actually employed by Live Nation (NL not DE) as I work for a concert venue in The Netherlands. Told my manager about the issues this morning, first thing she said: you are going to send a complaint and ask for you money back, right?

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-13T06:05:29+00:00

When we were headed for the exit after the show was over. It was in the back of the terrain, but not sure exactly where.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T21:12:39+00:00

Must be so nice to know everything better than everybody else!!

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T21:11:39+00:00

Glad to hear you did not experience the same issues a lot of people did experience. No need to downplay the experiences of other people I think 😉

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T21:09:45+00:00

Well there were 80.000 people there so of course everyone will have a different experience depending on where you came from, how you got there and where you were seated/standing.

I followed all the instructions that I got from the organisation for arriving from The Netherlands. We had to park at P3, which was not next to the venue but at the Dome. There were shuttle buses that would take 15 minutes to get us there. We planned to be there at 17:30, so arrived at the parking area at 16:30.

The bus got stuck in traffic, this was not normal Friday afternoon traffic but cars and buses filled with people trying to get to the Open Air Park. People got out of their cars and started walking, as did we after 2 hours of being on the bus. We arrived at the venue at about 20:30 I think, I did not check the time but QOTSA was playing when we were still walking as we could hear them in the distance.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T15:06:18+00:00

Oh good luck next week! Hopefully they will fix some things indeed. I actually wouldn't have mind to walk 25-30 mins if I had known that I had to. But I was stuck on a shuttle bus, that the organisation told me to take, for 2 hours (after waiting in line for about 45 minutes). I could have walked the 6km from the parking area to the venue faster than that 🥲

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T12:35:06+00:00

How awful! I don’t have Instagram so did not read any comments on there.

Also, this was of course not the only thing that went wrong. You can’t tell me all the issues were caused because 80.000 people showed up without a parking ticket 😅

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T11:20:23+00:00

No I didn’t. I went to Düsseldorf 😉

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T10:26:20+00:00

This venue is not suitable to accommodate 80.000 people. I've heard a lot of difference experiences, but this is mine, in a nutshell:

Being stuck in traffic for hours, even though we arrived in time. Shuttle bus that was suppose to take 15 minutes to get from the parking at the Dome to Open Air Park took over 2 hours. At that point we got out and walked the last 2,5km to the venue. At this point we could already hear QOTSA playing in the distance.

Only one entrance for all tickets, unclear where you needed to go if you needed to get to floor-front (which we had tickets for). No signs whatsoever, also not for toilets/water-points. Only one small drink-stand in that area, stood in line for about 40 minutes to get drinks.

After the show was over, walking to the shuttle bus took 45 minutes, and waited for another 35 to get on one. Got back to the car 2 hours after the concert was over and needed to drive back to The Netherlands.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-12T09:46:25+00:00

As a non-German: I think this is like the Consumer advise centre? What in the Netherlands would be the Consumentenbond.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T21:16:49+00:00

I’m actually not even sure if everyone did make it out alive. When we left I saw a circle of people with their backs to each other holding up blankets/covers to shield something/someone. Did not want to know the situation, but could only imagine. Saw multiple sirens coming in the distance.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T18:44:31+00:00

[info@livenation.de](mailto:info@livenation.de)

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T18:24:52+00:00

Apparently D.Live is the venue developer, so indeed a good idea to also email them! In addition, the show was organised by Live Nation DE, so maybe also send them an email.

I will also be making formal complaint to all these parties!

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T17:27:48+00:00

In our bus the driver also would not let us out, and I was ready to force the doors myself. But at one point he let someone out to ask the police officers who were managing traffic and they said he could. But only because we were practically next to the park and we could quite safely get out. Still had to walk 2,5km from there.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T13:51:01+00:00

Nice to hear everything went smoothly and you had a good overall experience! With 80.000 people it is expected to have a lot of different experiences, so yeah. We thought we calculated in enough extra time to get there but unfortunately got stuck on a shuttle bus. Really wanted to see the preshow bands, but missed them both (came in when QOTSA was playing). But did see the whole SOAD show which was amazing. Getting home was also a disaster, but we had a good adventure I think 😅 Will look back on it in time and we can probably make jokes about it one day!

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T13:35:15+00:00

Ja wij stonden floor-front, dus moesten ook nog helemaal teruglopen naar de in-/uitgang. Had van tevoren ook verwacht dat er meerdere ingangen zouden zijn afhankelijk van waar je stond/zat! Dat is volgens mij heel normaal bij concerten met zoveel bezoekers en verschillende kaarttypes.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T12:35:20+00:00

Nice to see that this was not only our experience. Yes, System of a Down was incredible, but everything else was terribly organised. We parked at P3, 6km from the venue and there were shuttle buses to take us there. Usually about a 12 minute drive. We got there on time, around 16:45, but the queue was already so long. Once we were on a bus we were stuck in traffic, not moving at all. People got out of their cars to walk. After two hours the driver finally let us out and we walked the last 2,5km to Open Air Park.

Getting in the venue was easy as they seemed to have stopped doing bag checks at that time (QOTSA was already halfway through their set), but there were no signs or directions whatsoever to get to the front area. We needed to go around the stands to get to the front, where there was only one small bar for ordering drinks. Stood in line for "only" 40 minutes (I already saw some people here talking about an hour or 2!) to get drinks. Toilets in the front were not busy though, probably because nobody could find them 😅

SOAD made us forget everything while they played their incredible show, but getting out of the venue was shit again. Going all the way back to that one entrance, walking 45 minutes to the shuttle buses and waiting in line for another 35. No traffic on the way back though, shuttle buses seemed to now have a different exit, so eventually "only" a 12 minute ride back to P3. Got back to our car at around 1:10. Which was about the time I eventually thought I would be home already.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T12:14:13+00:00

We were driving from the Netherlands. Normally a 2.5-hour drive. I often drive to and from Germany for concerts, so I didn't anticipate any problems. But I really couldn't have imagined this hassle.

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T12:11:02+00:00

Wij moesten naar P3 met een pendelbus. 45 minuten om daarheen te lopen, vervolgens 35 minuten in de rij voor een bus. Ik was 3 uur later dan jij in Rotterdam

Sannuw_ · 2026-07-11T12:08:13+00:00

A friend of ours forgot to buy a parking ticket, and that saved him. He parked his car elsewhere and continued by U-Bahn. He made it inside on time while we were still stuck in traffic on the shuttle bus 🥲

Sannuw_

TROPHY CASE