The asinine and poorly planned so-called Alienstock that was slated to take place next week appears close to disaster after the person behind the viral “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” Facebook joke post that inspired it said he was pulling out of the event.
A notice on the Alienstock website said that due to various hurdles that included “the lack of infrastructure, poor planning, risk management and blatant disregard” for the safety of potential attendees, the event that was supposed to take place in Rachel, Nevada from September 20 – 23 has been cancelled and a new, 21-and-over event is scheduled for September 20 in Downtown Las Vegas.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/09/10-things-the-storm-area-51-event-might-uncover-besides-aliens/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-29-at-1.56.48-pm-410×231.png” title=”10 Things The ‘Storm Area 51’ Event Might Uncover (Besides Aliens)” excerpt=”On September 20, 2 million people plan on storming the Area 51 military base in Nevada, U.S.A. with the sole purpose of uncovering (and potentially emancipating) the aliens long rumoured to be held at the site.
But ‘them aliens’ aren’t the only things that might call Area 51 home.”]
Matty Roberts, the creator of the event, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week that the cancellation was a “fantastic relief,” adding that he’d “had a lot of concerns leading up to Alienstock.”
The notice on the event’s website pointed the finger at Connie West, owner of the Little A’Le’Inn in Rachel — a community with a population of around 50 people — and permit holder for the event as failing to provide adequate proof of contracts and other documentation related to the event.
“In short, the relationship has ended permanently, and AlienStock will be moving to a safe, clean secure area in Downtown Las Vegas as an alternative,” the statement on the Alienstock website reads.
“We are not interested in, nor will we tolerate any involvement in a FYREFEST 2.0. We foresee a possible humanitarian disaster in the works, and we can’t participate in any capacity at this point. AlienStock is a brand that stands for unity and concern for like minded people. It’s grown into much more than a location. It’s a phenomenon that can only promise absolute safety and peace, and we need to move the Festival to guarantee that.”
West could not immediately be reached for comment about the event cancellation. However, West told the Review-Journal that Roberts was in charge of paying costs that included things like the performance stage as well as costs such as security and medical. But West said that she threw down $US17,500 ($25,506) for security — as well as medical and other permits — for an event that she said is “still going full blast,” despite concerns raised in the cancellation notice and by other reasonable parties.
Alienstock originally planned to be a multi-day live music and arts festival seemingly akin to Burning Man. But whether or not a joke, some 2 million people RSVP’d as planning to attend, raising serious concerns about the safety of festival-goers should it fail to pull off necessary measures to accommodate tens of thousands of expected attendees.
A statement on the Rachel website currently cites the cancellation and states that the Little A’Le’Inn is planning a comparatively pared-down event, adding that it “announced a few local bands to still play at their event. None of the bands are widely known and we expect that some, if not all, will pull out after the departure of Roberts and DiMaggio.”
“Instead of 50,000 visitors we now expect to see a few hundred at best. We fear that for the remaining visitors the event at the Inn will be rather disappointing. There will be no internet, no… service and very little entertainment or infrastructure. Be prepared to be completely self contained for food, water and a place to sleep,” the statement says. It further warns potential attendees to stay away from residential areas, federal and local facilities, and Area 51 itself.
Still, even if the event sees the mere few hundreds expected by the community now, Roberts seems pleased to have avoided a large-scale disaster.
“It was either going to go one of two ways,” Roberts told the Review-Journal. “We saw the red flags and we pull out, or we could have ignored those and have it turn into a Fyre Festival 2.0 on our hands. That’s not something I want to be part of.”