As 131,000 exhausted and exhilarated fans walked out on the final night of EDC Las Vegas on Sunday, one detail seemed both surprising and edifying: There were no deaths as yet reported at the festival this year.

Fan deaths had been the major cloud over the festival ever since the 2010 incident that contributed to the festival’s departure from L.A. and into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

EDC has since grown significantly, and with it came a stereotype that – though risk is perhaps inevitable at any fest of this size – it was potentially a dangerous show, from illicit drug use to heat to all of the things that come with a 400,000-strong rave in Vegas in the summer.

There were 212 medical calls and 40 felony narcotics arrests on Sunday – the latter being a record for the festival. But that also may reflect an increased vigilance for policing on the festival site.


See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >>

1 / 23 Coney Island clowns dance during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 23 Fans cheer during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 23 Military Brats dance backstage before the EDC parade during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 23 Crowds cheer and dance during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 23 Axwell Ingrosso performs Saturday during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 23 People walk past a Pac-Man installation during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 23 Sunrise after the second day of the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 18. (Harrison Hill / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 23 A young couple dances inside the Neon Garden during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 23 People watch a light show inside the Neon Garden during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 23 Fans enjoy a concert at Kinetic Field during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 23 Members of SNBRN perform at the Cosmic Meadow stage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 23 Fans watch a performance on the Kinetic Field stage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 23 Alexandre and Jessica Montes kiss as they are wed at the chapel of technology during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 23 A young man dances inside the Neon Garden during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 23 Fireworks display over Kinetic Field during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 23 A performer dances on the Kinetic Field stage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skali / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 23 Fireworks over the Kinectic Field stage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skali / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 23 Fans enjoy the festivities during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 23 A couple watches an act at the Cosmic Meadow stage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 23 Fans cheer at the Kinectic Field strage during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 23 People pass the Neon Garden at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 23 An art piece sits on a table during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 23 As the sun sets, people enjoy a carnival ride during the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on June 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The big achievement this year is that, whether from a combination of luck, friendly vigilance from EDC’s Ground Control team, advance warnings about heat or even possibly a general maturation of its fan base, everyone managed to stay fundamentally safe this year – the first time since 2013 that no one died at EDC.

As the EDC glow fades into Monday, the high points of the music – surprise appearances by John Legend and ‘90s house diva Robin S., rousing sets by underground heroes Anna Lunoe, the first solo female act to headline EDC’s main stage, and Chris Leibing, as well as an assertive turn from pop maven Zedd – may be less important than this year’s zero death toll. If EDC is going to be a perpetual teenage and early-20s cultural staple, it proved that raves can be a safe part of growing up.


For all of Insomniac’s challenges of late, EDC looks to finally be settling into its rhythms, from the music to the logistics to the security systems that are now more fundamental than ever to saving raves in the U.S. From San Bernardino to Argentina, governments are taking second looks at what EDM culture means to the safety of cities and their citizens.

If EDC is going to preserve its status as America’s preeminent dance music festival – and keep all the idiosyncrasies that make it what it is – it will need more years like this, where fans and staff step up and make a concerted effort to stay safe. This problem isn’t unique to EDC or to dance music, but this culture has a steeoer hill to climb to persuade governments and parents that the scene is a safe one.

While it’s impossible to control fans’ actions off-site, this year, through a mix of prevention, action and maybe providence, EDC appeared to do it right.

READ MORE


Electric Daisy Carnival: Bigger, brighter and all grown up

On EDC’s second night, a conquering mood in the air

EDC 2016: Axwell Ingrosso grows up with the culture of Electric Daisy Carnival