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Heading to Lollapalooza in Chicago this weekend? Expect a LOT of security.

If you’re heading to Lollapalooza this weekend, expect LOTS of extra security and plenty of bag searches. There are no known threats, but organizers want to make sure that there’s no repeat of the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas last year that left 58 people dead from sniper fire.

Officials have reason to be double-extra-careful. The Chicago Tribune reports:

Lollapalooza, which typically attracts 100,000 music fans each of its four days, will be one of the country’s largest urban festivals held since 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd-floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1. Days later, the Tribune reported Paddock had months earlier reserved two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue with a clear view of Lollapalooza, but he never showed up during the August festival.

Rich Guidice, first deputy of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said in a Thursday interview with the Tribune that he didn’t want to speculate on Paddock’s possible Chicago plans, but his team took into consideration the Las Vegas shooting and other incidents around the world when devising security protocols.

So, yeah, the Lollapalooza security perimeter will extend well beyond the festival grounds.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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