It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Stadium seating. (Discuss)

Festival seating, also known as "general seating" or "stadium seating" is a method of seating at concerts and other performances in which the best seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Stadium seating is a technique used in movie theaters to allow more guests to see the movie screen with less blockage. ... Stadium seating is a technique used in movie theaters to allow more guests to see the movie screen with less blockage. ... Stadium seating is a technique used in movie theaters to allow more guests to see the movie screen with less blockage. ... The phrase first come, first served (sometimes first-come, first-serve or simply FCFS) indicates the policy of a particular establishment to attend to the requests of customers or clients in the order that they arrived, without other biases or preferences. ...

Many music acts prefer festival seating because it allows the most enthusiastic fans to get near the stage and generate excitement for the rest of the crowd. Some performers and bands insist on a festival seating area near the stage.

On December 3, 1979, the Riverfront Coliseum (now called the U.S. Bank Arena) in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the site of one of the worst rock concert tragedies in United States history. Eleven fans were killed and several dozen others injured in the rush for seating at the opening of a sold-out concert by The Who. The concert was using "festival seating." When the crowds waiting outside heard the band performing a soundcheck, they thought the concert was beginning and tried to rush into the still-closed doors, trampling those at the front of the crowd. December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... U.S. Bank Arena (originally known as the Riverfront Coliseum and later known as The Crown and the Firstar Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio near the Ohio River. ... U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... The Who in 1968. ...

The tragedy was blamed on poor crowd control, mainly the failure of arena management to open enough doors to deal with the crowd outside. As a result, concert venues across North America switched to assigned seating or changed their rules about festival seating. Cincinnati immediately outlawed festival seating at concerts, although it overturned the ban on August 4, 2004, since the ban was making it difficult for Cincinnati to book concerts. (In 2002, the city had made a one-time exception to the ban, allowing festival seating for a Bruce Springsteen concert; no problems were experienced.) Cincinnati was the only city in the U.S. to outlaw festival seating altogether. August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bruce Springsteen on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. ...