As of last Friday morning, April 11th, Toronto\’s city committee voted 4-3 to ban electronic music events from being held in Exhibition Place, one of Canada\’s largest public entertainment hubs.
According to an article from Canadian news network Global News, the Better Living Centre and the Direct Energy Centre in the Exhibition Palace, also known as The Ex, has been hosting electronic music events for the past twelve years in order to \”combat the use of illicit drugs in the city’s growing rave scene\” through strict regulations, thus creating a safer environment for the increasing population of ravers.
The concern for having Exhibition Palace host electronic events was raised in January by Muzik Nightclub owner Zlatko Starkovski. The main argument for banning EDM events from the public space, as indicated by Starkovski\’s letter to the city committee, was that not only was The Ex taking business away from his club and other Toronto music venues located in the Exhibition Palace, but that the \”underage drinking and drug use, not only damages our good work, but that of the Exhibition Place being a location for top notch entertainment and hospitality and events\”.
Though the argument for saving the reputation of a public entertainment area seems justifiable, Canadian Councillor Gord Perks pointed out to THUMP, an electronic music news website, that “Muzik, which is very politically connected, simply wants to get exclusive control of music events on Exhibition Place grounds. So they pretended to be for the welfare of young people, but instead, all they’re interested in is their own bottom line. They want to expand to have exclusive rights\”. Indeed, the shut down of EDM events in the Better Living Centre and the Direct Energy Centre leaves Muzik as one of the only places in The Ex able to host such events, meaning their competitors such as Live Nation and INK will have to look elsewhere to hold electronic music concerts. Also, by moving these events into private venues, the city of Toronto itself loses about 1 million dollars in revenue, which will now be dispersed to clubs such as Muzik for holding artists such as Avicii and Tiesto.
As the media vilifies EDM and raves more and more each day with their stories of drug overdose and hospitalized concert-goers, it is no surprise that such events held on public grounds will start to feel the political pressure put on them by such stories. Even iconic electronic music festivals, such as Ultra, have not escaped such criticism and appear to be constantly threatened each year. Though the arguments for banning such festivals in public places and increasing security are valid, it is also true that the drug abuse and the injuries due to such events will not decline just because these events are moved into private venues. Also, it is difficult to ignore that the increasing popularity of EDM events and the money they generate are factors when such concerns are raised by private sectors. Whatever your opinion is on the matter, it is important to be reminded that safety should always be a ravers number one priority, especially with this year\’s festival season just around the corner.
To read more about the ban of public EDM events in The Ex in Toronto, check out THUMP\’s article regarding the issue.
