Flag-wearing EDC fans not afraid to show their passion for country

At Electric Daisy Carnival, there’s the typical rave attire — plastic kandi beads, rhinestone-encrusted bras, neon spandex and totems, the decorated poles often seen pumping up and down in the crowd. As throngs of people flow through the Cosmic Meadow down Electric Avenue, another accessory appears again and again: flags. Italian, French, Indian, Australian and of course, American.

They’re tied around attendee’s necks like capes and billowing from poles above the masses. Two Canadian men wear their country’s flag, along with a bear hat and colorful kandi beads. A group of women carries both a Mexican and a French flag among them.

“Every year that I come, I see everyone wearing their flags,” said Carlos de Leon, 43, came to the first EDC in 1997 and has been to the event more than a dozen times in different cities around the world. After seeing pictures from previous events of people with their flags on social media, he wanted to make certain that Guatemala’s flag, less commonly seen at the festival, would be included this time around.

He tied the pale blue and white flag around his neck to represent the country he immigrated from in 1978 when he moved to the United States.

Chaitu Ambati, 27, flew from Sydney, Australia, to attend his first EDC and said he had one reason for wearing his flag: “To represent.”

It also helps him meet other Aussies, of which there are many, often walking through the venue in groups with the flags on their backs, he said.

Kiran Gajendran, 26, has similarly simple reasoning for carrying a huge Indian flag above him.

“I’m proud to be Indian, that’s it,” he says.

Gajendran, who was born in India but now lives in Los Angeles, is at EDC for the first time as well.

“Everyone blends in,” at EDC, Gajendran says. “All cultures blend in too. You can come from any part of the world.”

And they do. Fans from all 50 states and 61 countries are expected to attend the event, organizers said.