Tens of thousands of people were expected to descend on downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Park on Saturday for the inaugural Budweiser Made in America music festival, prompting some local residents to express concerns and frustrations about the event’s impact on the area.
Kanye West, Imagine Dragons, John Mayor, Iggy Azalea, Afrojack and Kendrick Lamar were among those scheduled to perform at the festival, which was backed by Jay Z.
With an expected crowd of 50,000, the event could be the park’s biggest yet.
Traffic was one of the main concerns, as a number of street closures were in effect in downtown Saturday and Sunday. Parking was also expected to be an issue.
“I just don’t think it’s the right place for it, right here in the center,” one woman, who did not give her name, told KTLA.
Residents said they were also worried about noise and crowd control.
“Not really convenient to have all these people around. And this festival, it’s going to be dirty,” said another woman, who also did not give her name.
Erin Myers reports from downtown L.A. for the KTLA 5 Morning News on Aug. 30, 2014.
Click here for a full list of street closures in the area.