City Park Stadium, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
This was The Beatles’ only concert in New Orleans, Louisiana. They played before a capacity crowd of 12,000 at the City Park Stadium, and were in the city for less than 24 hours.
The Beatles had arrived in the early hours of the morning. The Beatles and their small entourage were driven to the Congress Inn. They were initially accompanied by a police motorcade, but became separated during the journey. As their limousine neared the hotel, it was spotted by fans who quickly surrounded it.
The police arrived and forced the fans aside, but as the limousine reversed it hit a Kenner Police Department escort car, causing slight damage. The Beatles ran through the motel lobby, into the laundry room and finally into their three-room suite, room 100.
Upon their arrival, Brian Epstein was horrified to find that the hotel was a single-story building; at the time, The Beatles had trouble finding hotels willing to have them as guests, due to the crowds of teenage fans they attracted wherever they went.
The Beatles took to their rooms, remaining there until their late-afternoon press conference. For the first time on this tour, manager Epstein allowed a newsreel cameraman to film the conference.
During the afternoon Mayor Victor Schiro arrived at the hotel to give them a key to the city, and proclaimed 16 September 1964 ‘Beatles Day’ in New Orleans.
The group had one major request in the city: they wanted to meet Fats Domino. The musician agreed to meet The Beatles in their dressing room at the City Park Stadium immediately prior to their performance.
