The question of how entries would go when Lollapalooza first opened Thursday morning turned out to be a non-question. At least initially.

       Crowds of a few dozen young concertgoers congregated at the Van Buren and Harrison streets entrance and at the Michigan Avenue main entrance area well before 11 a.m. Few masks were seen.

       But once the gates opened, a little early at 10:50 a.m., those crowds were quickly absorbed into entrance lines on Ida B. Wells Drive and smoothly dispatched into the park.

       Lollapalooza is checking proof of COVID-19 vaccines at the gates, or concertgoers can provide a negative COVID-19 test result within the last 72 hours. The festival is not using apps such as the Clear app that have been used by music festivals elsewhere.

       An early false rumor that only copies of vaccine cards would be accepted, not originals, caused confusion for some and a line at a local FedEx office to make photocopies. Lollapalooza is accepting digital copies of proof of vaccine or concertgoers can show their original copy.

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       Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago is likely to reach the 200-case-per-day COVID-19 bench mark Thursday. As for Lollapalooza, she said, safety is a “primary consideration” at such gatherings, “and certainly this year.”

       “We have had very robust planning around safety for weeks if not months leading into the start of Lollapalooza today,” she said, adding there’s been an effort to identify and mitigate “soft spots” around the perimeter of the festival site.

       Samantha Trampush had never been to the Lollapalooza music festival before, but this year was different. She and her five friends, some donning face sparkles, all in their early 20s, decided to buy tickets this year. On the first day the sales were available, the squad agreed to snag their tickets. They’d been waiting outside the entrance 20 minutes before opening and are most excited to see the performances of Olivia O’Brien and Miley Cyrus.

       A group of six from Cleveland were among the first in line at the Van Buren and Harrison entrance. They said they had been there in the sun since about 8:30 a.m. They wanted to be first in. “We’re running first to the merch, then to the guard rails,” said Robbie Rodick, 24.

       The merch is the band merchandise that they heard can sell out on the first day. The guard rail is at the front of the T-Mobile stage, where they wanted to stake their claim all the way through Playboi Carti and Miley Cyrus Thursday night.

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       Emily Ermal, 20, from Downers Grove, said she wanted to be in the front row as well at the Bud Light Seltzer stage. She was last at Lolla in 2019. “I’ve just missed concerts so much,” she said.

       How to get in: More information here for rules for entry for Lollapalooza 2021.

       This story is updating.

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