What to know about London’s massive Rock the Runway concert
Cory Crossman, director of Tourism London’s music office, said the festival is attracting out-of-town and international visitors.
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What’s expected to be the biggest concert in London’s history, Rock the Runway takes off Friday at London International Airport and concludes Saturday night. London Free Press reporter Brian Williams breaks down what you need to know about the two-day festival that is expected to attract 25,000 people on the first day and up to 12,000 on the second day.
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ROCK THE RUNWAY LINEUP
Multi-platinum Canadian musician Tyler Shaw is the opening act of Rock the Runway on Friday at 5 p.m., according to festival’s website. Shaw is followed by two-time JUNO award-winning alternative rock group the Strumbellas and British singer-songwriter Myles Turner. Two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Noah Kahan closes Friday’s lineup.
Saturday has been labelled USC Purple Fest for Western University Students’ Council (USC) and features four acts starting at 4:45 p.m. DJ Alpha, voted London’s most popular DJ company, kicks off Saturday’s lineup, according to Rock the Runway website. This is followed by Dutch DJ Don Diablo and Canadian rapper Alexander Leon Gumuchian, known professionally as bbno$, is scheduled to perform next, while “famously masked Grammy-nominated artist and producer” DJ Marshmello is booked to close the concert.
ANTICIPATED TURNOUT
Rock the Runway organizers weren’t available on Friday, but they had previously said the event was expected to be the biggest concert in London’s history. Friday’s lineup is expected to draw 25,000 people and Saturday’s USC Purple Fest is expected to bring 10,000 to 12,000 attendees.
As of mid-August, 22,000 tickets had been sold. At the time, 1,500 tickets were still available while an additional 1,500 remained for students through Western University Students’ Council. So far, the city’s record concert turnout was on July 16, 1979, when Supertramp drew 20,000 fans to Western University’s J.W. Little stadium.
LOCAL TOURISM
On Friday, Tourism London’s music office director Cory Crossman said Rock the Runway was generating considerable chatter and that he knew of “people coming from out of town, maybe even out of country” to attend the concert.
“It’s big news, I think, for our community across so many avenues, whether it be the music sector or tourism sector,” he said.
Crossman said large events like Rock the Runway are beneficial because visitors to the city “stay, spend money and they invest in this community,” whether it’s a “restaurant, a barber shop, at a bar after the event or (a) hotel.”
The city’s “hotels are quite full” this weekend. Large concerts like Rock the Runway bring “in a tonne of tourism dollars that we’re thrilled to have,” he said.
AIR TRAVEL AND PICKUP
Commercial air travel to and from London International Airport was projected to remain largely unaffected by Rock the Runway, except for a flight destined for Toronto Friday morning at 10 a.m. that was delayed until just after noon.
London International Airport CEO Scott McFadzean said one runway, “which was typically not used”, is closed for the concert, noting “a couple airport tenants” won’t have access to their planes during the concert but were notified “upward of two months in advance.”
For those dropping off and picking up travellers, McFadzean doesn’t “expect any impact” to traffic flow, adding that no access to the concert was “coming off Oxford or into Terminal Circle.”
Parking is in similar zones to those used during Airshow London, he said. “So, they’re accessing the property off of Robins Hill Road.”
ADDRESSING SECURITY CONCERNS
Airports are known for strict security measures.
McFadzean said “aviation safety and security is always our No. 1 priority”, noting the airport has kept Transport Canada “in the loop” through the “entire process” of the concert’s planning.
Attendees are required to go through security to gain access to the show and to be “nowhere near the restricted areas or the runway or terminal operations,” he said.
“Despite the name Rock the Runway, the concert has no impact on the runway or operations,” McFadzean said.
The festival was taking place in a “fully fenced off” section of the airport where “no one has any access to any active air side surfaces,” McFadzean said.
“It’s taking up a much smaller footprint in a very underutilized part of the airport” in comparison to last weekend’s Airshow London, where visitors had “more access to the property overall.”
Security is “actually tighter” than during Airshow London, he said.
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