Lollapalooza begins: What to expect, rules to enter, vaccine requirements

Grant Park is hosting the city’s biggest party since the start of the pandemic.

With full capacity crowds, 100,000 people a day will attend, delivering a big economic boost to local hotels and restaurants.

But with COVID-19 still circulating there are new rules for entry.

Festival-goers must have a printed copy of their vaccination card or a printed COVID-19 test from within the last three days.

That means anyone with a four-day pass to Lolla will have to test twice.

If you have not been vaccinated, you must wear a mask.

Some Chicagoans are nervous about a super spreader event in the making, but city health officials say they feel COVID-19 precautions at the festival are adequate.

"To me it’s safe," Mason Kaniuk from Fishers, Indiana, said.

His brother Ethan, also here for the festival, is more worried about the heat.

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"I brought a hydration pack under this backpack here, that’s allowed at the venue. I gotta stay hydrated because it’s gonna be hot today and tomorrow," Kaniuk said.

Thursday evening, Lollapalooza tweeted that more than 90-percent of festival-goers had proof of vaccination, and 8-percent brought proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

And 600 people showed up without paperwork.

For some fans, COVID remained top of mind, while others summed up the first day in a few words.

"Explosion!" one fan exclaimed. "A lot of heart in Chicago, a lot of heart."

Festival-goers who are headed to Grant Park this weekend can enter Lollapalooza at Michigan Avenue and Ida B Wells Drive or Columbus Drive and Monroe Street.

Organizers urge everyone to check the website for the updated bag policy and other rules.