20 Concert Tragedies That Shocked Fans Worldwide

20-Concert-Tragedies

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining twenty horrible tragedies that occurred at concerts around the world.

The Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse

Every year, starting in late July and ending in mid August, Indianapolis hosts the Indiana State Fair, sometimes drawing close to one million people to the event. On the night of August 13, 2011, country music duo Sugarland were scheduled to take the stage, following opener Sara Bareilles. But shortly after Bareilles finished and before Sugarland began, a massive wind gust hit the poorly constructed stage. It collapsed onto the crowd below, instantly killing four people and injuring dozens more. An additional three would later die at the hospital, bringing the total number of deaths to seven. Several lawsuits were filed following the incident, with the largest awarding the plaintiffs with $50 million.

Woodstock ‘99

Event planners need to study Woodstock ‘99, as it contains everything you shouldn’t do when planning a large concert. Attempting to emulate the peace and love of the original Woodstock, organizers held a third iteration in July of 1999. But the event was horribly planned from the outset. The problems were countless, from an inadequate sanitation system to overpriced water in the scorching heat. Three people died, two from heat-related causes. Sexual assault was rampant in the massive crowd. Frustrations built and built before exploding into a flurry of violence on the night of July 25, complete with rioting, mass vandalism, and fires, with performer Anthony Kiedis likening the sight to “Apocalypse Now.”

The Yiddish Concert Accident

In the summer of 2001, the European Center for Yiddish Culture organized an open air concert in Strasbourg, France to promote traditional Yiddish music. Various storm warnings were issued prior to the concert, as winds were topping out at nearly 100 miles per hour. And while nearby events were canceled, this Yiddish concert went ahead as planned. During the intense wind and rain, some 130 spectators left the stands and sought shelter in a nearby food tent. But in a horrible twist of fate, a large plane tree was uprooted by the wind and crushed the food tent, killing eleven and injuring a further 85.

The Cromañón Nightclub Fire

On December 30, 2004, the Argentine rock band Callejeros were performing in the República Cromañón. This nightclub had no fire alarm, an expired fire safety license, and little suppression material to speak of, with ten of the fifteen extinguishers not working. And in a club with a maximum capacity of 1,500, 4,000 people were watching Callejeros play. During the performance, a pyrotechnic was set off and ignited the insulation foam in the club’s ceiling. The fire quickly spread out of control owing to the flammable decorations, and to make matters worse, four of the six doors were chained shut to prevent non-payers from getting in. But people couldn’t get out, and nearly 200 died from breathing the poisonous air.

The Mawazine Stampede

Meaning “Rhythms of the World,” Mawazine is an annual music festival held in the Moroccan capital of Rabat. As part of this festival, Moroccan pop star Abdelaziz Stati was holding a free concert at the Hay Nahda soccer stadium on the night of May 23, 2009. Shortly after midnight on May 24, the concert ended and 70,000 people rushed to the exits. This mass of surging people quickly resulted in a stampede, and people were crushed and suffocated as the mass moved forward. Eleven people lost their lives, all having been crushed to death. A further forty were injured, eight of them quite seriously.

The Curtis Mayfield Accident

An enormously influential musician, Curtis Mayfield found success as a solo artist and a member of the R&B group The Impressions. Their song “People Get Ready” is highly regarded, appearing on a number of best of all time lists. On August 13, 1990, Mayfield was set to perform at an outdoor concert in Brooklyn. While being introduced on stage, a scaffold was knocked down by a strong gust of wind and fell directly on top of Mayfield. While he survived, the falling scaffold broke his neck and left him paralyzed from the waist down. He would live another nine years in this condition before dying in 1999 from diabetes.

Big Beach Boutique II

Like Woodstock ‘99, Big Beach Boutique II was a logistical nightmare that resulted in tragedy. Famous DJ Fatboy Slim put on a free concert on the beach of Brighton, a resort city on the south coast of England. He was expected to perform for 60,000 people, but 250,000 showed up, and the authorities were not prepared. The beach was crowded with too many people and some were pushed into the ocean, forcing a coastguard helicopter to perform numerous rescues. Approximately 160 people were injured in the crowd, and ambulances could not reach the service tents owing to the enormous crowds. Six people were arrested, two died, and half of the police force on duty that day underwent trauma counseling.

The Ghost Ship Fire

On December 2, 2016, a massive fire occurred in an Oakland artist collective called the Ghost Ship. About 100 people were attending a concert in the collective, including residents who unlawfully lived in the building, when a fire broke out. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but it quickly engulfed the entire building. 36 people died, making this the deadliest California building fire in over 100 years. The Ghost Ship had numerous issues that contributed to the tragedy - it had known electrical problems and no fire sprinklers, and it had been poorly constructed to house the illegal tenants. Owner Derick Almena was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to twelve years in prison, but he was released for time served.

The Roskilde Crush

Every summer, the city of Roskilde, Denmark holds the Roskilde Festival, the largest music festival in the Nordic countries. On the evening of June 30, 2000, the iconic grunge band Pearl Jam was performing for 50,000 people on the festival’s Orange Stage. The crowd were swaying in a wave-like motion to the music, but a large number of people fell, likely owing to the slippery and muddy ground. This opened up a hole that was filled by the dancing crowd, and the people on the ground were quickly stomped and suffocated. Crowdsurfers alerted security of the problem and the band stopped the concert, but it was too late. Nine people died and a further 26 were injured.

The Santika Club Fire

Bangkok’s Santika nightclub was hosting a New Year’s party on the night of December 31, 2008. Just after midnight, in a horribly cruel twist of irony, about 1,000 people were watching a band called Burn perform when a fire broke out in the nightclub. The exact cause remains unknown, but it was most likely an electrical accident in the ceiling. The building was poorly regulated, only having one main exit and using plastic as a waterproofing material. This plastic quickly burned and caused people to faint, which undoubtedly added to the casualties. 67 people died in the fire and over 200 were injured, and club owner Wisuk Setsawat was eventually sentenced to three years in prison.

The Riverfront Coliseum Disaster

Iconic rock band The Who embarked on a world tour in 1979, this being their first since the passing of drummer Keith Moon. On the night of December 3, the band was scheduled to play in Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum. Despite a sizable crowd waiting outside the venue, only two doors were opened to permit entry. To make matters worse, the crowd then heard a soundcheck from outside and believed that the band was starting earlier than expected. This resulted in a panicked surge towards the two open doors and eleven people were killed in the crush. Regardless, the concert went on as planned and the band were not told of the tragedy that occurred outside.

The Alrosa Villa Show

Often considered one of the best metal guitarists ever, Dimebag Darrell found enormous success playing with Pantera. He also formed a short-lived band called Damageplan, who were performing in Columbus’s Alrosa Villa nightclub on the night of December 8, 2004. Shortly after the first song began, a fan rushed the stage and shot Dimebag Darrell multiple times with a 9mm pistol. Various people attempted to help him and stop the shooter, but they were also killed. This includes the band’s head of security, an employee of the venue, and a fan who hopped onto the stage. The shooter then took drum tech John Brooks hostage, but he was killed by a responding police officer before more deaths could occur.

The Manchester Arena Incident

On the night of May 22, 2017, pop star Ariana Grande was performing in England’s Manchester Arena. The concert went off without a hitch and finished a few minutes before 10:30. At exactly 10:31, as the massive crowd was filing out of the venue, a bomb weighing 66 pounds exploded in the arena’s foyer. 22 innocent people were killed in the blast and over 1,000 were injured. Countless more suffered severe psychological trauma after witnessing the bombing and its aftermath. The incident was linked to an Islamic terrorist who also died in the explosion. The bomber’s brother helped source the explosives and was later convicted on 22 counts of murder, resulting in life imprisonment.

Pukkelpop 2011

The summer of 2011 was a bad time for concert tragedies. Just five days after the Indiana State Fair tragedy, the Belgian festival Pukkelpop was struck by torrential rain and high winds reaching up to 106 miles per hour. The storm carved a large swath of damage, like uprooting trees, destroying tents, and knocking down light towers. 140 people were injured in the destruction and four people died at the scene; a fifth later passed away in the hospital. The combined Indiana and Pukkelpop incidents resulted in an international uproar, with many people calling for stricter regulations for outdoor concerts.

The Astroworld Crush

Inaugurated on November 17, 2018, the Astroworld Festival was created by Travis Scott and held annually in Houston’s NRG Park. Astroworld’s third iteration occurred in 2021, with the 2020 event being canceled due to COVID. Scott took the stage at 9:02 pm on the night of November 5, causing people to rush the stage in an attempt to get a better view of the rapper. This resulted in a slow crowd crush that lasted approximately one hour. Attendees desperately tried to get the attention of security and even Scott himself, but these pleas were either ignored or missed and the show continued. Ten people died from compressive asphyxiation while a further 300 were injured.

The 2017 Las Vegas Attack

On October 1, 2017, the United States experienced its deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman, and it occurred on the Las Vegas Strip during the Route 91 Harvest festival. The gunman opened fire from the nearby Mandalay Bay, firing well over 1,000 rounds into the massive crowd below. Hundreds of people were injured from the shooting, and 58 died either at the scene or in the immediate aftermath. Two others died years later from their injuries, bringing the official death toll to 60. The shooting resulted in a national discussion about gun rights and eventually led to the banning of bump stocks, which allowed the perp to shoot his rifles in a rapid succession.

The Altamont Free Concert

Just four months after the original Woodstock, another famous counterculture concert took place, this time on the west coast. Called Woodstock West by some, the Altamont Festival hosted the likes of Santana, Jefferson Airplane, and the Rolling Stones, and security was infamously provided by the Hells Angels. Unfortunately, the acts were largely overshadowed by the widespread violence that occurred at the concert. Two people died in a hit and run, and a third drowned in a canal after taking LSD. But the most well known death was that of Meredith Hunter, an audience member who was killed by a Hells Angel after drawing a revolver. For many, the darkness of Altamont symbolizes the end of the hippie era.

The Love Parade Disaster

Between 1989 and 2010, Germany hosted a touring dance festival called Love Parade, which was mostly centered around techno and EDM. The 2010 iteration was taking place in Duisburg, a city of about 500,000 in the west of the country. The population of the city ballooned for the event, as nearly 1.5 million people were thought to have attended the concert. The festival area was only accessible through one narrow tunnel, which quickly became overcrowded and confined with surging bodies. The intense bottleneck soon resulted in a violent crowd crush, with one police officer calling the situation “a living hell.” Hundreds were injured and 21 people died, all from crushed rib cages.

The Station Fire

America’s deadliest fireworks accident occurred on February 20, 2003 at The Station, a small nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. 462 people were inside the club watching a band called Great White, when tour manager Daniel Biechele set off a number of stage pyrotechnics. The sparks ignited the acoustic foam used for soundproofing, and the fire spread at a rapid pace. In just one minute, thick black smoke had consumed the club. Most people panicked and attempted to escape through the front doors, resulting in a massive crush that blocked the exit and prevented further escape. In mere minutes, the club was completely engulfed by flames and 100 people died in the fire.

The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

Located in Southgate, Kentucky was the Beverly Hills Supper Club, an opulent venue that nevertheless had a number of extreme deficiencies. For example, there was an inadequate amount of fire exits, no alarm or sprinkler, faulty wiring, and piecemeal construction. All this resulted in tragedy on May 28, 1977. The club was overbooked, containing double the max capacity of 1,500, many of whom were there to watch singer John Davidson perform. A fire began in the club’s ceiling and quickly spread throughout the building. Panic ensued, and people were either crushed in doorways or stuck in dead ends owing to the building’s confusing layout. The roof eventually collapsed and destroyed the club shortly after midnight. A total of 165 people lost their lives.


Are there other tragic concert events that deserve to be remembered? If so, share those with us in the comments below.