
Summer is approaching, which means it’s almost music-festival season. And like every year, most revelers will be looking for ways to get that epic video or crazy selfie that will make all their friends jealous. They’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, however, as two of the country’s biggest festivals have announced a ban on selfie sticks.
Coachella, the massive annual fest in California that begins on April 10 this year, said on its website that “Selfie sticks/Narsisstics” would not be allowed, indicating that the organizers simply find the extendable smartphone attachments annoying in addition to being potentially dangerous.
Chicago’s Lollapalooza followed suit, listing “GoPro attachments like sticks, selfie sticks and monopods” under prohibited items in its FAQ section.
While other major festivals across the U.S. have not yet indicated whether they would allow selfie sticks, several venues in the U.K. have issued similar bans in the past.
“Selfies are a big part of the gig experience,” a spokesperson for London’s Wembley SSE Arena told music-news website NME. “The sticks might mean you are refused entry to the venue so our advice is don’t bring them and stick with the tried and tested use of an arm.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com