New security procedures will be in place for concerts and other events at Chicago’s Millennium Park, with officials apologizing for those changes coming “with little warning” for patrons.
Officials with the Grant Park Music Festival announced the changes overnight Saturday in a press release.
Those changes include an adjustment of where patrons can enter events at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Event-goers must now enter the pavilion from either Randolph Street on the north end or Monroe Street on the south end, according to officials. Entering from the Millennium Garage parking structure will also be allowed.
Those attending concerts will no longer be allowed to enter from the Michigan Avenue side, officials said. No reason for the change was given by organizers.
All concert-goers will also be asked to open their bags for security officers when entering the venue, and will be examined with a metal-detecting wand before being granted entry, officials said.
“Ultimately, these new measures have been implemented in order to maintain the friendly, relaxed atmosphere inside the park, which has always been – and will continue to be – a feature of our public events,” organizers said in a statement.
The Jay Pritzker Pavilion hosts the city’s summer music and film series, and also hosts festivals honoring gospel, jazz, blues, mariachi and other forms of music.
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The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic also performs at the venue, as do casts from Broadway shows and from the Lyric Opera.
The next event scheduled at the Pritzker Pavilion will be a performance of Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” on Wednesday.
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