We were getting ready for another Robbie Williams concert, my eleventh of that year. And I was excited! The location, a huge field in Cologne, was going to be amazing. Almost everyone of our group of Dutch Robbie Williams fans was going to be there. And everyone wanted to stand front row...
While in the car on our way to Cologne, we discussed the news that there were stories about a girl camping outside for almost 6 days now. Knowing how nervous that can make people, we were expecting the worst. "Could you drive a little faster?". Just before midnight our car arrived and we met with a guy of the group who was so clever to already do a pre-inspection. "There are three entrances", he said. "Two near the main road, and they are packed with people already". We started freaking out a little. "And there is one entrance in the forest. And there is nobody there yet.", he continued. That confused us... how can it be that nobody is there? "Are you sure that it is a real entrance?"
He was sure... So we grabbed our stuff and tried finding the entrance in the pitch black forest. There was a fence and a guy guarding it. He told that this was really an entrance. We dropped out stuff and started filling the airbeds and preparing for the night. Happy we were the first at the gate.
The sun came up. We were still alone. We discovered that there was a gorgeous pond next to where we had been staying. And while some of us guarded our stuff and spot, the rest started exploring the area. Not shortly after that, information reached us that the other 2 entrances were crazy busy, with at least 200 people per gate. There we were, chilling at our gate, 11 of us. No stress....yet.
X is the spot where we were 'camping'
Security came to us to tell us that our entrance would open later. There was a tree leaning over dangerously and it needed to be cut down first. "ARE YOU SERIOUS??". The famous:"Don't worry, you'll have a great spot" was heard, since the security people don't seem to understand why you are sleeping in front of a venue. "A great spot is front row and nothing less!", we replied. By that time the other gates were just too busy so it didn't make sense to move. We tried explaining and asking for a solution. "We will discuss it, will let you know"...
Around 8 am we got a text that at the other gates people were standing up already, and there was pushing involved. We were happy not to stand in the middle of that, but still didn't know if our gate would even open. In the meantime, some other fans showed up and looked at the gate confused. We were honest:"We don't really know if this gate will open, I wouldn't take the risk if I were you". And they all left.
We were sitting on our airbeds, playing cards, chatting and chilling, when we received a text "from the other side" that due to safety concerns they opened their gate and they were now on the terrain waiting. Not knowing where "on the terrain" was, it was clear that it wasn't in front of the stage yet. It was pretty hard for us to imagine the craziness going on at the other entrances, while we were sitting on a bench at the pond. But we still hadn't heard from security.
Finally, a solution. They would escort us to the field, to make sure that we were going to be safe with the tree danger. No need to worry. My inner control freak didn't like the thought of it. If we are slowly escorted in, and the other gates can run, where do you think that we will end up? Certainly not front row, right? "This is all we can do..."
Relieved, but still slightly concerned, we waited. Around 3 pm our escorting team arrived. We followed (and didn't see any dangerous tree), were totally chill when we arrived on the field and slowly started walking towards the next barrier. Then we looked up... and I think at that moment, every single person of our group started to freak out. On the other side of the field, there was a wall of people breaking through the security taped barrier and started running in our direction.
So that is where the other fans ended up..... And all the adrenaline build up and the frustration of the other 2 entrances now came rushing towards us. We started running and got to the next barrier first... and a few seconds later, there was nowhere to go anymore, with the huge group of people breathing in our necks.
Long story short: We all ended up front row and had a great concert. And the forest adventure? I will never forget. And you may wonder why go through this just to be able to stand on the front row? To me it is like this: You just feel like a part of the show that way. And you can lean and nothing is blocking your view. And maybe because people from the opening act can then recognise you when shopping in Cologne the next day ("You are at every concert!!!"). But that might be for a different story....
My other Robbie Williams adventures:
Stalker's day out - adventures #1: Stare, but don't look
White Robbíe: How I created mass hysteria and a panicking friend