Coachella 2025 kicked off to a rocky start, with attendees reportedly stuck in 12-hour traffic jams before entering the festival.
- READ MORE: Coachella 2025 weekend one: line-up, stage times and how to watch online
This year’s edition of the Californian festival is well underway, with Friday’s headliner Lady Gaga wrapping up her headline set in the early hours this morning (April 12). Despite being hailed by fans as the “best Coachella show of all time”, many were beset by travel issues before getting through the gates.
Fans in attendance have taken to social media to complain about hours-long lines to get to the car camping area on festival grounds, with some comparing it to the disastrous Fyre Festival.
Though some traffic is expected as revellers pile into the event, local media have reported some campers were stuck in their cars for hours on end, without access to bathrooms, water or gas, with one Palm Springs-based station dubbing the gridlock “carmageddon”.
Coachella descends into chaos, and it hasn’t even started yet. These are cars lined up to get through security to enter the car camping area. Attendees are reporting a 12 hour wait, and no porta potties, with some saying it’s “worse than Fyre Festival”. pic.twitter.com/ztjACmd70u
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) April 11, 2025
Current situation for some people at @coachella. Going on 9 hours on this line, luckily we still half a tank of gas. pic.twitter.com/1396I35zpZ
— Martin (@martindtx108) April 10, 2025
coachella borderline turning into fyre fest this year…… oh i’m sat, people waiting 12-18+ hours to get in for car camping, people shitting & pissing on the sides of the line in bushes, coachella not giving anyone water while they bake in their car in line …. phew omfg?😭
— caymi𓆩♡𓆪 INDY N2🧣❄️ (@cowboylikecaymi) April 11, 2025
Shouts out Coachella for having no clue how to direct camping traffic and manage security, having people waiting since before 3am to STILL not even be near the security checkpoint is ridiculous
— Lefton Read (@LammaJoe) April 10, 2025
Hearing lots of reports of Coachella getting off to a rough start for campers today — some have waited as long as 12+ hours to reach a campsite, including one person who sent the DM below. pic.twitter.com/i19KcDgjeA
— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) April 10, 2025
Festival news account FestiveOwl shared a text from one attendee, who described conditions as “horrendous”, and went on to say there had been “no guidance or directions” from any Coachella organisers.
One TikTok user also shared her experience of a 10 hour wait, calling the huge backlog of cars “a complete shit show.” “We still haven’t even gone through security. It’s 100 degrees outside. People’s cars are overheating,” she said in the video.
“They’re running out of gas. There are no bathrooms anywhere. People are literally using the bathroom behind bushes like animals, and they paid over $600 to be here. This whole experience has been so disappointing, and it’s been extremely dehumanizing. People are pissed.”
@notliss It’s giving Fyre Fest… & yes i look terrible bc ive been up for 30+ hours 🫠 #coachella2025 #coachellacamping #coachella
♬ original sound – liss
Billboard reported that sources close to the festival have pointed to two likely culprits for the extensive queues, the first being that the campgrounds began letting people in on Thursday (April 10) at 9 am this year, which is later than in previous years and may have contributed to the backlog.
The second was the festival have launched a preferred campsite program for the campground closest to the festival entrance. Sources claimed the new system, which replaced the traditional first-come, first-served one took more time per camper to manage than originally anticipated.
The first wave of artists confirmed for this year’s edition was shared back in November, when it was revealed that Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott would be headlining. Other artists on the bill include Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, Megan Thee Stallion, solo performances from BLACKPINK‘s Lisa and Jennie, Benson Boone, the original Misfits, Zedd, The Prodigy, Beabadoobee, Clairo, Enhypen and more.
Since then, more acts have been gradually added to the line-up, with the most recent of which being Ed Sheeran and Weezer – while FKA Twigs was forced to pull out due to US visa issues.
Check back here to see the latest Coachella updates.