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Fan suffers ‘catastrophic’ injuries at concert

A concertgoer suffered a “catastrophic” spinal cord injury after a frontman stage dived into the crowd at a show in the US.

Bird Piché, 24, was attending a gig by Australian punk rock band Trophy Eyes at the Mohawk Place club in Buffalo, New York, on 30 April when the incident took place.

Discussing the “tragic accident” in a post on X, the group said: “We elected to immediately shut down the show as John [Floreani, singer] accompanied them to the hospital with their family.

“Out of respect for the family, we have refrained from speaking about this publicly so far, but with the blessing of their family we are now able to say how truly heartbroken we are to be here now.

“Our friend, Bird, is now in recovery, but still has a long road ahead for them. This situation has shaken us all to our care and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time.”

Piché has undergone extensive surgery for her injuries, and Trophy Eyes have donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe page set up to help with her medical bills. More than US$65,000 has already been raised towards its $100,000 target.

“Our policy and practiced procedure is a full show stop for any stage diving which was put into place for this incident”

“She has a long recovery ahead and will need all the help she can get,” reads the page, which was set up by friends Stephanie Brown and Leo Wolters Tejera. “It is still too early to know what her prognosis is but after leaving the hospital she will need to go to a rehab facility. She will obviously not be able to work during this time.

“The funds will be used for medical bills and anything she may need to function in life because of the accident.”

Tejera tells WGRZ that footage was captured on camera.

“The video is wild because unless you knew that someone was hurt in the video, you’d never expect that,” he says. “Like it’s just an average stage dive. The video that I saw on Facebook and then another angle surfaced on a Reddit thread, both of them just seem fairly innocuous.”

Mohawk Place manager Mike Thor says the venue has rules in place around moshing and stage diving.

“There are signs posted everywhere in the venue and notice was included in the emails for this show with the show’s promoter and the band themselves,” says Thor, as per Heavy Consequence. “Our policy and practiced procedure is a full show stop for any stage diving which was put into place for this incident. Currently we are working to put together a charity show to help the injured party with their GoFundMe.”

 

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Man injured in balcony fall at Harry Styles show

A man has escaped serious injury after falling from a top tier balcony during Harry Styles’ concert at Glasgow’s Ibrox Stadium in Scotland, UK.

Styles was performing the encore on the opening night of his Love on Tour UK stadium run on Saturday (11 June) when the 20-year-old victim reportedly fell from a VIP box and landed on the stand below.

According to the Daily Record, the man was rushed to hospital but suffered just two black eyes, bruising and concussion. A spokesperson for promoter DF Concerts confirmed to Metro that no one else was involved or injured on the level below.

“There were no suspicious circumstances and the man was seen to by medical staff”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland says: ‘Officers were made aware of a man falling from a club deck at a premises on Edmiston Drive, Glasgow at around 10.15pm on Saturday, 11 June, 2022. There were no suspicious circumstances and the man was seen to by medical staff.”

Styles, who has sold out his 42-date tour in its entirety, was the first music artist to play the 50,000-cap home of Glasgow Rangers FC since Bon Jovi in 2017. The tour is due to continue tomorrow (15 June) with the first of two shows at Manchester’s Emirates Old Trafford.

The singer was 2021’s top worldwide ticket seller according to Pollstar‘s year-end rankings.

 

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French man loses hand in pre-festival clash

Seven people, including five police officers, were injured on Friday night as police broke up an illegal rave in Brittany.

Violent clashes broke out after 400 gendarmes were dispatched to shut down the party, a so-called ‘teknival’ which had been organised in violation of an 11pm curfew, at a racecourse near the commune of Redon on the evening of 18 June.

The rave was held on the eve of the annual Fête de la Musique festival – which takes place in a reduced-capacity format today (21 June) – and was intended to commemorate Steve Maia Caniço, a young man who died after falling into the Loire river during Fête de la Musique in 2019. ‘Justice for Steve’ protesters hold the police responsible for Caniço’s death, which occurred after officers moved in to break up a gathering in Nantes.

Authorities say some partygoers pelted police with molotov cocktails and pieces of breeze block

Local authorities had secured a legal order against the party, which involved as many as 1,500 people. The National Gendarmerie seized equipment including sound systems and generators after dispersing the crowds.

Speaking to AFP, local prefect Emmanuel Berthier describes the “very violent clashes” on 18 June between police and the ravers, who “had an objective: to confront the forces of public order”. Authorities say some partygoers brought metal pétanque balls to the rave, while others pelted police with molotov cocktails and pieces of breeze block.

Two police officers suffered serious enough injuries as to need hospital treatment, while two ravers were also injured – including one man who lost a hand in the violence. Organisers of the rave accuse police of choosing ‘violence instead of dialogue’ after firing tear gas grenades at the gathering.

 

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Fatal stampede causes chaos at Venezuelan concert

A free concert held at Caracas’ Francisco de Miranda park on Saturday (9 November) resulted in tragedy, as a stampede left up to three dead and dozens injured.

Police estimated that 8,000 people – the vast majority minors – arrived to see the concert by Venezuelan trap artist Neutro Shorty, real name Liomar Acosta.

According to many reports, three minors were killed in the stampede. Other sources put the death toll at one, whereas online Venezuela TV channel VPI TV reports that four were killed.

Fans attempted “to climb over the entry barriers, which gave way, causing the stampede,” Miguel Balza, the coordinator of civil protection in the metropolitan area of Caracas told reporters at the AFP.

Fans attempted “to climb over the entry barriers, which gave way, causing the stampede”

The concert was later moved to an adjacent park. Speaking from the stage, the trap artist announced: “I didn’t come here to lie to you, or to cause any trouble. I came here to sing, and for free. What is going on is no good. Kids are fainting. I feel sick when I see their faces. I don’t want this to carry on.”

An investigation has launched into the incident. Neither the concert organiser or park authorities have claimed responsibility for the stampede.

A barricade collapse caused non-fatal issues at another live music event over the weekend. Three fans were hospitalised after sustaining minor injuries when an entry barrier collapsed at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston on Saturday, prompting a stampede.

No serious injuries or fatalities were reported.

 

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Music fans injured in screen, barricade collapses

Incidents at two separate live music events this weekend left around 50 fans injured.

Thirty people sustained injuries at a 20,000-capacity rap concert in Essen, Germany on Saturday night (31 August), when a large LED screen fell into the crowd. Police told reporters that two fans were left in a “critical condition” following the incident at the Marteria and Casper concert.

The concert was immediately cancelled and fans evacuated from the area of Seaside beach, Lake Baldeney. According to some reports, extreme weather contributed to the collapse.

The rappers later took to social media to thank “our crews, the emergency services and local authorities” for their professional response.

Incidents at two separate live music events this weekend left around 50 fans injured

In the United States, more than two dozen festivalgoers were injured at AEG-promoted Bumbershoot music festival at the Seattle Center. A steel barricade separating the crowd from the stage collapsed during a performance by DJ and producer Jai Wolf.

“Saturday night at Bumbershoot Festival there was a steel barricade failure that resulted in several non-life threatening injuries,” read a statement issued by festival organisers. “Those injured were handled by on-site medical teams and further treatment continued at an area hospital as deemed necessary.”

The show was rescheduled for the following evening, with entry granted to all those with Saturday Bumbershoot passes.

Tyler the Creator, Lizzo, the Lumineers and Her were among the acts to play at the three-day festival.

 

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14 hospitalised as storm hits Backstreet Boys concert

At least 14 people were injured at a sold-out Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees concert over the weekend after a storm battered the WinStar World Casino and Resort venue in Oklahoma.

12,000 concert hopefuls were queuing outside the venue when heavy rain and winds as strong as 80mph caused trusses located at the entrance of the open-air venue to collapse on top of the crowd. Videos taken by witnesses to the scene show fans helping the injured before emergency services arrived.

Staff at the venue had begun the process of evacuation prior to the collapse, after lightening was seen close to the venue. According to a statement from the venue, however, some chose not to heed the warnings of staff, instead choosing to stay in line amongst the severe weather.

“This was an unusual event and our thoughts are with those who were injured during this storm”

“All patrons in the area were asked to move and to seek shelter from the storm. However, about 150 patrons who were standing in line for the Backstreet Boys concert did not heed staff’s warnings,” the statement reads.

“We know that fans often suffer through inclement weather for their favourite acts, but this was an unusual event and our thoughts are with those who were injured during this storm.”

One prospective concertgoer shared a video of the scene on Twitter, showing the aftermath of the collapse, complete with ambulances and police cars.

Members of Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees took to Twitter to express their disappointment at the turn of events. From their official Backstreet Boys Twitter account the band said: “We never want to put our fans in harm’s way and with tonight’s weather and the injuries from earlier.

“We have decided to cancel the show and will attempt to reschedule. The most important thing is for everyone to get home safely and we will see you all very soon!”

Band member Kevin Richardson has since confirmed on Twitter that the concert will be rescheduled and has advised fans to keep their tickets.

 

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