Biggest concert disasters – stampede deaths, terrorist attacks and crushed neck

Concerts can be both a blessing and a curse to see artists perform their music live.

Regularly, thousands of fans will pack an arena or a stadium to see their favourite musician or band play their biggest hits. While this usually is a fantastic experience for both musicians and fans alike, it can also often result in tragedy.

On Saturday (August 10), pop star Sabrina Carpenter was forced to run off stage whilst performing for thousands of fans at the Outlands Festival in San Francisco. The Espresso singer had been performing for huge crowds at the Golden Gate Park when she was hit by a pyrotechnic, putting an abrupt end to the show.

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So, as Sabrina continues to recover from her brush with death, Daily Star looks at some of the biggest concert disasters of all time.

Stampedes and death

During the Astroworld Festival in November 2021, a fatal crush took place ahead of a performance by rapper and event organiser Travis Scott. Over 50,000 people had attended the festival, with Scott’s headline billed as one of the main attractions.

Travis appeared some 15 minutes late to the set on November 5, and his appearance triggered a surge toward the stage, leading a crowd crush. As a result, the concert was abandoned as emergency services rushed in to treat those who were injured.

Following the performance, 10 people were confirmed to have died in the crush. Travis, who had not heard the pleas to stop the concert during his performance, only learned of the incident after the gig and offered an apology to those who were in attendance, including the families of those who died.

Multiple attacks

While the French capital Paris has been regaling in the beauty of the Olympic Games over the past few weeks, the celebrations came nine years after a terrifying set of attacks that took place in the city. In 2015, as part of a wave of attacks, Islamist terrorists opened fire at the Bataclan theatre.

The venue, located in the heart of Paris, had been packed with fans attending an Eagles of Death Metal concert – with 1,500 fans said to be in attendance. However, when the attacks began, the terrorists were able to make their way into the theatre and open fire indiscriminately.

In total, 90 people were killed at the theatre, with the Islamic State taking responsibility, saying the theatre had supported Jewish organisations. These were not the only attacks in the city that night, however, as suicide bombers also attempted to enter the Stade de France, with the explosions being heard during a football match.

Fatal miscommunication

In 1979, English rock band The Who were in the midst of a world tour, selling out stadiums wherever they went. Their next stop was the Riverfont Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio – and it had been a sellout gig, with some 18,348 tickets sold for the concert.

Due to misinformation from a local radio station, fans began arriving at the venue hours earlier than previously expected. This meant that only one door into the arena was open, resulting in the assumption it was the only door to go through.

Upon hearing music play in the stadium, a stampede ensued, resulting in the deaths of 11 people, with 26 others being seriously injured. The concert went ahead, against the advice of local fire services – and the band were not made aware of the incidents until the show was over.

Strength in unity

The city of Manchester was rocked by an attack carried out by a radicalised terrorist in 2017 at an Ariana Grande concert. The singer had just finished her set when Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb in the foyer of the Manchester Arena.

The attack killed a total of 22 people, with the youngest person being aged just eight. It was the first major terrorist attack in the UK since the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005.

However, the city would refuse to be brought down by the attack and held a benefit concert in memory of those who died. Ariana Grande herself attended the concert, and raised a total of £17million for the victims of those who were affected by the bombing.

Freak accidents

In 2022, a series of concerts being held by Hong Kong boyband Mirror were called off after a giant LED screen fell from the stage, resulting in a person’s neck being crushed. The accident took place during a group performance, with LED screens hovering over the stage.

The LED screen fell and hit two of the band’s dancers that had been standing directly underneath it. The men were knocked unconscious by the crush, with both being taken to hospital for their serious injuries.

Following on from the incident, Moses Li Kai-yin – who sustained the neck injuries, remains in hospital, but his condition has slowly improved over time. The band would go on to take a three-month hiatus, returning to the stage in October 2022.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk