The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 18 January 2002
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Screams to ring out for Jessica - Fans will remember crush victim FANS at this this year's Big Day Out will be asked to remember the teenager who died at last year's music festival with a one-minute scream. Instead of a minute's silence, fans at next week's event will raise their voices to the sky in the name of 16-year-old Jessica Michalik. Jessica who died a few days after being crushed at last year's event, will be honoured by the sell-out crowd of 52,000 people yelling out her name in unison to create a minute of white noise. The big scream is set to take place at 4pm on Australia Day at the Showground in Homebush, just as Jessica's favourite rock band, local musicians Grinspoon, take to the stage. Fans will also be given stick-on tattoos featuring a butterfly and the words ``Hole Lotta Love'' written in Jessica's own cursive script. ``Were going to do a few things on the day,'' said Big Day Out promoter Ken West. ``We've tried to come up with things that are logical but not contrived. That's why we came up with four things in the end. It won't be over the top.'' Along with the scream and the tattoos, concert goers will be asked to sign a memorial book, while Jessica's family and friends will mark the anniversary of her death with a private tree-planting ceremony at the showground before the gates open. Big Day Out organisers decided on the various memorials in consultation with Jessica's father, George Michalik. While the inquest into Jessica's death isn't set to reopen until late-February and isn't expected to hand down its findings until later in the year, Big Day Out organisers have already set in place numerous additional safety features at this year's event. Aside from limiting the capacity of the day-long music event to 52,000 tickets -- 3000 less than last year -- the most prominent change as far as concert-goers are concerned will be the introduction of the so-called D-barricade. The steel, fence-like structure will create an artificial boundary around the concerts twin main stages, limiting access to the front on the stage to only 4000 fans. Other measures include additional security staff (more than 350), more St John Ambulance staff (80), and the introduction of 80 volunteer ``crowd-carers''. This year, the event also carries an MA rating, which means children under-15 must be accompanied by an adult. ``The simple thing with the under-15 thing is that I thought from the word go that, after what happened last year, no parent in their right mind would let an under-15 go on their own,'' Mr West said. ``So its not a big issue. We've had some good responses from older people who have said, `Finally I can go with the kids. I can put my foot down and say: No, I�m coming'.'' This year's six-date Big Day Out tour starts in Auckland today and then moves to the Gold Coast on Sunday. Next Saturday's show at the Showground in Sydney, which sold-out last week, also marks the 10th anniversary of the travelling festival. Headliners for this year's event include silverchair, New Order, Garbage and The Prodigy.
