Image by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0 - The death of Christina Grimmie has triggered a call for more security measures in public events
- The annual, much-anticipated event, VidCon, has set more ground rules and added security personnel
- Celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Nick Jonas have also spoken up about the effects of Grimmie’s death
After the tragic death of singer and The Voice finalist Christina Grimmie, public events and celebrities are calling for tighter security measures. YouTube sensation Grimmie was shot in Orlando at her meet-and-greet event held after her concert.
The VidCon 2016 convention slated to happen on June 23-25 in California has announced that it is increasing its security for its panels. This includes disallowing fans from approaching their speakers, panelists, and creators after they hold the panel.
“This has been an awful weekend for our community and our world. Christina Grimmie was an innovator, and an artist, and she was so so kind. Losing her is devastating. And the attack in Orlando likewise drives home how much hate there is in the world. It’s awful. These things seem impossible, but they are real,” VidCon organizers wrote in a Tumblr post.
Variety writes that there will be at least 450 security guards present in the event. This is twice the number they had from last year. Each panel will be assigned three security guards. Undercover police will be in attendance and random bag checks throughout the three-day conference will also take place. The entire perimeter of the venue will be fenced. The attendants for the Meet and Tweet will have to go through a metal detector.
“Previously, after panels many fans have come up to give creators gifts or letters or to ask questions and talk. This will no longer be a thing. Creators won’t be able to linger after panels and the audience will not be allowed to approach the panelists. This sucks; obviously, we don’t want to build a wall between creators and their communities, but it is unfortunately necessary,” the organizers explained.
“As in all years we want VidCon to be fun, but you can’t have fun without being safe, and the VidCon Team is committed to making sure that everyone’s safety is the number one priority,” they added.
VidCon is a multi-genre online video conference; held annually in Southern California since 2010.
Meanwhile, celebrities have also become concerned about their public appearances.
HollywoodLife.com states that their source told them that pop star Selena Gomez is considering canceling her upcoming meet and greet events in light of what happened to Grimmie, a friend of hers.
“Selena is obviously broken up over the entire tragedy, and she feels that for her safety, and her fans safety, that it might be best to cancel all future meet and greets. She’s weighing the pros and cons of it all, but she really is highly considering canceling or drastically changing how things are run to make sure everyone is safe and sound,” the source told HollywoodLife.com.
Singer Nick Jonas also spoke out about the tragedy. Perez Hilton shared that the heartthrob expressed his views on the matter in an interview with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. He said the death of Grimmie calls for issues to be addressed not just in music venues or meet and greets but on a national level.
“It’s something that needs to be addressed across the board and it’s not just specifically in meet and greets, because obviously the horrible tragedy in Orlando the next day. I think it’s just an issue we need to sort out as a country and get right. With music venues, I think there are some protocols that can be taken to make it safer, not only for the artists but for the fans. We all need live music, we need to be able to feel safe to go to a show and enjoy a concert. We can’t let people win that are out there just to make people’s lives horrible,” he said.
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