Number 9 The 2010 Love Parade
The Love Parade was a dance music festival which originated in Berlin, in 1989. The event’s 2010
edition, which took place in Duisburg, would end in disaster. Unlike previous festivals,
which would feature a parade through the city, it was staged on the grounds of a former freight
station. The confined area could hold a maximum of 250,000 even though, similar to past editions,
over 1 million attendees were expected. At the meeting point of a tunnel, nearly 800 feet long,
and a series of underpasses was a ramp, serving as both entrance and exit. It was the only access
point to the festival area. As it started to overcrowd, the police instructed people to
turn back and told them via loudspeakers that the tunnel’s only exit was closed. In spite of their
warnings, the crowd kept pushing forward until a crush occurred. One eyewitness, who’d become
trapped in the tunnel, remembered seeing a mass of twisted bodies at the exit. Another described
the situation as a “living hell”. 15 people died at the site while 6 others succumbed to their
injuries in hospitals. All of the fatalities had occurred as a result of crushed ribcages. Court
proceedings for prosecution were initiated against 10 people involved in planning the festival,
on accusations of negligent homicide and mayhem. Out of respect for those who’d lost their lives,
the Love Parade was permanently cancelled. Number 8 Gulliver’s Nightclub Fire
In June of 1974, a deadly fire ravaged Gulliver’s Nightclub,
on the border of Greenwich, Connecticut and Port Chester, New York. The club’s lower level
consisted of a lounge which was accessed through a short and narrow flight of stairs. It featured
a sunken dance floor and it was there that the concerts were held. On the 30th of June,
a band called The Creation was playing, which also included Paul Caravello,
who would later play drums for the band Kiss. When a waitress told the band she smelled smoke, they
stopped performing and calmly told the attendees to walk to the exit. Thick, black smoke rapidly
filled the room, causing a panic. Because of the intense heat, concertgoers were unable to climb
the stairs back to Gulliver’s main room. 24 people lost their lives. Many of the bodies were so badly
charred that they could only be identified by dental records. It later emerged that the
fire had been deliberately caused by 22-year-old Peter J. Leonard, who’d tried to cover his tracks
after robbing an adjacent bowling alley. Number 7 Indiana State Fair Disaster
On August the 13th of 2011, a stage roof collapse, during an outdoor concert at the Indiana State
Fair, caused the death of 7 people. American country duo Sugarland was headlining the event
but its members were still in their tour bus when the disaster occurred.
Leading up to the concert, the National Weather Service had issued warnings about strong
thunderstorms but a decision was made for the show to continue as scheduled. Shortly before 9 pm,
a powerful wind gust struck the stage, causing its roof to plummet into the crowd. 4 people
were killed at the scene and 3 passed away in the hospital while up to 58 others were injured. A
report would later reveal that the roof hadn’t been properly fixed into the concrete barriers
meant to anchor it in place. Several lawsuits were initiated in the tragedy’s aftermath, the largest
of which was settled for $50 million in damages. Number 6 República Cromañón Fire
On December the 30th of 2004, one of the deadliest nightclub fires
in history occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A venue called República Cromañón was hosting a
rock group called Callejeros, with roughly 3,000 people in attendance, which was double what the
club was able to hold. The building’s fire safety measures were virtually non-existent. There was no
emergency lighting, detection or alarm systems, while 10 of its 15 extinguishers were unusable,
as they were depressurized. It would later emerge that República Cromañón’s safety license
had expired the previous month. On the night of the concert, 4 of the 6 entrances, some of
which were to be used in case of fire, had been chained shut so that people wouldn’t be able to
get in without paying. To make matters worse, the objects used for decoration consisted of highly
flammable materials, such as Styrofoam, wood and plastic netting that hung from the ceiling.
The fire started after a pyrotechnic flare, commonly used during New Year’s Eve festivities,
was released and ignited the foam in the ceiling. The blaze quickly spread and the plastic net
melted, raining fire on concertgoers. Most of the victims succumbed to the inhalation of toxic gases
while others sustained fatal burns. 194 people died while at least 1,492 were injured.
In the tragedy’s aftermath, the club’s owner was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The members of
Callejeros were also brought to trial, after witnesses reported that the band
had encouraged the crowd to set off flares. Number 5 Roskilde Crush
On June the 30th of 2000, a deadly stampede took place at a Pearl Jam concert, during the Roskilde
Festival, in Denmark. A crowd of an estimated 50,000 people started pushing towards the stage.
Heavy rainfall had caused the ground to become slippery. Many of them fell down at one place,
only to be crushed when they didn’t immediately get up. Others fell onto the massive pile of
flailing arms and legs, suffocating those at the bottom. The band stopped the music and asked their
fans to collectively take a few steps back. While many complied, some were still stuck in the pileup
which eventually claimed the lives of 9 people while injuring 26 others. Since crowdsurfing was
deemed as one of the tragedy’s main contributing factors, it was subsequently banned across
many European festivals. Number 4 Colectiv Fire
On October the 30th of 2015 a devastating fire occurred at the Colectiv nightclub, in Bucharest,
Romania. Hundreds of people were in attendance, at the time, for a concert by the metalcore band
Goodbye to Gravity. The group’s pyrotechnics, which consisted of sparkler firework candles,
ignited the highly-flammable acoustic foam which covered the ceiling’s supporting pillars. Concert
goers didn’t react, at first, believing the flames to be part of the show. The fire rapidly spread
to the ceiling, causing it to collapse. A stampede ensued as hundreds rushed to the
club’s only working exit. Desperate to escape the blaze, people climbed on top of each other as the
two-part door was reportedly only half opened. Emergency services arrived 11 minutes after the
call had been placed and Romanian authorities were overwhelmed by the vast number of victims.
Many were transferred to facilities in other countries, including Israel, the Netherlands,
France, Belgium and Germany. 26 people died on site while 38 others succumbed to burns and
respiratory complications in hospitals. Out of the band’s five members, only the vocalist survived.
Colectiv owners were arrested and charged with multiple counts of negligence while massive
anti-corruption protests led to the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister. The 2019
award-winning documentary “Collective” focused on the corruption surrounding the fire, which had
been Romania’s deadliest disaster in two decades. Number 3 Death of Jessica Michalik
At the 2001 Big Day Out festival, in Australia, a teenager was crushed to death in a mosh pit
during a performance by headliners Limp Bizkit. As concertgoers started violently slamming
into each other, a number of injuries were reported. A fight circle had broken out,
near the front of the crowd, from which dozens would later be taken out on stretchers.
16-year-old Jessica Michalik fell to the ground and was trampled unconscious. Security officials
signaled lead singer Fred Durst to stop playing, but he reportedly continued. The Coroner’s Court
of New South Wales would later criticize Durst for making “alarming and inflammatory comments”
during the rescue effort. Five days after she was crushed in the mosh pit, Jessica Michalik
was pronounced dead. Grinspoon, her favorite band, performed at the teen’s funeral while Limp Bizkit
paid tribute to her in a subsequent concert, by performing under a banner with her name on it.
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us know in the comments section below Number 2 The Who Concert Disaster
As part of their 1979 world tour, English band The Who was booked for a sold-out concert in
Cincinnati. Most of the tickets, an estimated 14,470, were unassigned general admission,
meaning they followed the general rule of first-come, first-served. Shortly before the
concert was due to begin, a crowd of thousands had gathered outside the arena. To enter the stadium,
they had to go through a series of individual doors, at the front, as well as some doors on each
side. When they didn’t open at the scheduled time, the crowd became agitated. After entry was finally
permitted, only a pair of doors was opened and concertgoers assumed that none of the others would
grant them access. Then, they reacted to a late sound check by the band, believing the concert
had already started. The crowd surged and started pushing through the only available entrance point.
A number of people were trampled while some succumbed to asphyxiation. 11 concertgoers,
aged 15 to 27, lost their lives while dozens were injured. The Who weren’t told about the tragedy
until after their performance and dedicated their subsequent concert to the victims’ memory.
Number 1 2017 Las Vegas Shooting On October the 1st of 2017,
Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd gathered at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival,
in Las Vegas. The shooting occurred from 10:05 to 10:15 pm, while singer Jason Aldean was giving the
closing performance. From his 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, Paddock rapidly fired over
1,000 rounds of ammunition into the concertgoers. He killed 60 people and, in the ensuing stampede,
867 others were injured. Paddock also shot a fuel tank at McCarran International Airport, presumably
with the intention of triggering an explosion. One bullet penetrated the tank but, because jet fuel
is mostly kerosene, it didn’t ignite. When the police breached his room with explosives, they
found Paddock dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Officers recovered 23 rifles,
mostly AR-15 and AR-10 types, as well as one handgun from the room. The motive behind Paddock’s
calculated massacre was never determined. The tragic incident became the deadliest mass shooting
by a single individual in modern US history. Thanks for watching! Would you go see your
favorite band/artist in concert, with VIP tickets, knowing there was a 10%
chance something could go tragically wrong? Let us know in the comments section below!