Diljit Delhi Concert Concludes With Bitter Feelings: Theft To Trashed JLN Stadium, What Went Wrong?

Diljit Dosanjh kick-started his much-anticipated Dil-Luminati India Tour in New Delhi with two back-to-back shows on Saturday and Sunday. The singer regaled an approximately 40,000-strong crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in a two-hour set over two days, which saw him perform songs 5 Taara, Do You Know, GOAT, Proper Patola, Hass Hass, Lemonade, Kinni Kinni, Naina, Ikk Kudi, Clash, Lover and his other hits.

However, allegations of mismanagement at the concert started to surface as soon as the first show concluded on Saturday. A similar narrative emerged when netizens shared their experience after attending the Sunday gig. This came amid an ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged black marketing and scalping of the Dil-Luminati India Tour tickets.

Concert attendees scammed with fake tickets

According to PTI, a fan attending the concert revealed that he bought tickets from someone outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, but they turned out to be fake. “It was a total waste to come here,” they said, further revealing how they were turned away by security when the counterfeit tickets were detected. “I came here without a ticket and met someone who sold me a fake one. They charged me a lot of money for it,” they shared.

The tour organisers had earlier warned fans to only buy tickets from the authorised seller - ZomatoLive.  

Pre- Diwali shopping adds to traffic woes

Long traffic queues were witnessed in several parts of the national capital on Saturday and Sunday as people thronged the markets ahead of Diwali , while heavy rush for back-to-back concerts of Diljit Dosanjh also hit vehicular movement in some parts of South Delhi. Traffic was hit near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue for Diljit's concerts, as thousands lined up to catch a glimpse of the popular singer-actor. Many on social media also complained of soaring cab prices at the time.

In fact, Zomato CEO shared on social media how had to leave his car and walk the last part of his journey en route to Diljit's Delhi concert. He shared a video of the bumper-to-bumper traffic on social media, saying, “Walking the last mile to the JLN stadium for Diljit. Sooooo much traffic.” Later, he posted another update, writing, "finally inside”, once he made it through security.

Premium sports facility trashed, equipment destroyed

The two-day Dil-Luminati Tour concert at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi has drawn the ire of athletes and sports teams. India’s premier track and field venue was trashed and covered in debris and garbage after the shows concluded. Photos post-concert have been going viral on social media, hinting at how athletics equipment has been broken and thrown to the sides. This has resulted in athletes losing their valuable training days.

Allegations of mismanagement at the concert - dirty toilets, lack of first aid and no water  

Several concert attendees took to social media to share their disappointment over the poor management of the Punjabi singer's Delhi show, despite them spending a fortune to secure a ticket. From dirty washrooms to a lack of first aid, netizens seemed miffed with how the gig was organised.

People complained of proper sanitisation inside washrooms. Other issues were related to the small number of food stalls which were crowded early on the show. Since food and complimentary drinks were added to the ticket prices, some complained that they would not be able to redeem the coupons.

Another visitor pointed out that despite buying the tickets for the 'Gold pit', which was procured at a higher price than regular tickets, the facilities provided were not up to the mark.

Theft and other issues concert-goers faced at Diljit's Dil-Luminati Delhi concert

An Instagram user, who was all set to attend the concert, complained how their tickets were stolen at the venue and they had to return home without attending the show. Another fan revealed he struggled to buy the ticket online but he was made to sit quite far from his partner. He told PTI at the venue, “I struggled for nine hours on Zomato Live to get some tickets and finally got one. My girlfriend has another ticket, but she’s sitting on the other side. We’re in two different rows.”

The singer will now travel to nine other cities across the country, including Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Pune, and Kolkata. The grand finale of his India tour will be held in Guwahati on December 29.