It was the day before the first weekend of Coachella. I was lying in bed after a long day of school, hours before bed, scrolling through TikTok for downtime. My skincare was complete and my pajamas were on. Upon scrolling on my ForYou Page, almost every video kept the same theme: Coachella.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, or Coachella, is an event held every spring since 1999 in Indio, California, with different musical artists headlining each year. It’s any music fiend’s dream to attend. However, with tickets selling for as high as $1,269 – not including transportation, lodging and meals – it’s a dream far out of reach for everyday people. Those who can attend are either social media influencers, celebrities or everyday people who have saved for the two-weekend festival.
As the final weekend of Coachella approaches, the high temperature from Friday to Sunday averages about 95 degrees Fahrenheit daily. Uncomfortable camping conditions in the desert have recently gone viral on TikTok. Paired with high temperatures, Coachella is held at the Colorado Desert, so dust and arid conditions come with camping in the desert. Numerous videos show concert-goers camping out for the weekend, pitching tents beside their cars and using portable showers to bathe on grass. Some festival-goers even slept outside for the three days rather than booking a hotel nearby – all in an effort to “save” money for an already ridiculously expensive event.
For those camping in their cars or under canopies, being exposed to dry heat for three days is bound to cause fatigue, heat exhaustion or heat stroke. While some artists such as Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, The Creator – all of which are headliners this year – may be worth camping outside for, personal health should be a priority.
To make matters worse, about 125,000 people attend both weekends of Coachella. The average person generates about four pounds of trash per day. Nearly 500,000 pounds of trash is produced each weekend alone at Coachella Valley. To account for both weekends each year, that is roughly one million pounds of trash per year. An extreme amount of people confined in such a small area is bound to promote extreme pollution to the desert. In 2017 alone, custodians at Coachella dispensed 100,000 pounds of trash from attendees daily. Litter, such as plastic, releases greenhouse gasses as it breaks down in landfills. In such a hot temperature in the valley, landfills and excess trash radiate more heat as they release more greenhouse gasses. Climate change is at an all-time high, and Coachella is yet another contributor to Earth’s increased warming.
In the years 2014-17 — in Coachella’s “golden age” — it was a social media phenomenon. Most, myself included, anticipated celebrity Instagram posts to see what they were wearing and who was hanging out with who. Now, Coachella has lost its glamor as the curtain is pulled for everyday people to see the true reality of the festival. It appears more of a sacrifice of basic necessities rather than a privilege to attend the festival. After watching videos of cramped tents, disgusting portable restrooms and the sheer heat the desert offers, I can no longer confidently say I would go to Coachella if I could.
Sure, Coachella could be seen as an “escape” from reality for some individuals, to bask in live music and dress up bohemian. However, with such clustered crowds and intense heat, paired with inevitable pollution in such a concentrated area, perhaps it’s time to finally reconsider romanticizing Coachella.
