Update (12:32 pm): CNN has another update, this time with more info on the victims.

Also, Music365 and N.M.E. are reporting that Oasis & Pet Shop Boys have asked the organizers to cancel the rest of the festival.

And as we speculated this morning, Pearl Jam has canceled the remaining dates on their European tour, including
their appearance at the Werchter festival tomorrow. Radio station Studio Brussels has confirmed that The Cure
will go ahead with their appearance though. No word yet on what effect Pearl Jam's cancellation will have on the
schedule.

This terrible story continues to unfold and I'm sure the biggest concern for most of us now is making sure our
friends who were going to the show are ok. I've been asked if the Werchter show has been canceled as a result of
this, and I honestly don't know. I would think that The Cure would still play, but I would seriously doubt Pearl Jam (who are scheduled to play before the Cure again) will be able to perform, since they were on stage when this
happened and as you can tell from their press statement below, they are quite upset and probably emotionally
wrecked.
If you are going to Werchter or any other festivals this summer, please look out for those around you. If you see
someone in trouble, please try to get them help immediately. And if the crush gets to be too much for you, let
everyone around you know and get out of the crowd as quickly as possible.

Again, we would like to send out our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of those who lost their lives and
those who were injured in the senseless accident.
 
 
 

TRAGIC ACCIDENT AT ROSKILDE FESTIVAL IN DENMARK

Late on Friday night 8 people, all male, lost their lives during a concert on Roskilde Festival's main stage.
Furthermore 1 person (male) is badly injured.

According to the information so far the accident is due to a number of people in the crowd in front of the stage lost
their balance, and the accident occurred.

All disposable rescue personnel were drawn to the front of the stage, and the injured people were immediately
brought to Roskilde Hospital.

Technical investigations are presently taking place. The festival is expected to continue after an evaluation of how
the event can continue despite of the accident and with the deepest respect for the perished.

Identification has not yet taken place. Anxious relatives of guests on Roskilde Festival can contact the nearest
police office for information - as guests on the festival are encouraged to get in touch with relatives in order to
inform of their being. On the festival site emergency relief is available.

Everybody on the festival are deeply concerned with the accident and wish to express their sympathy with
relatives.
 
 

"During the Pearl Jam concert we received reports that a group of people had fallen or been knocked down near
the arched fence and that it had been impossible for our security staff to pull them out over the fence. For this
reason a message was passed to the lead singer that the concert was to called off. The audience was asked to take
three steps backwards. We realised quickly how serious the situation was. Ambulance were called when it became
apparent that about ten people were in need of emergency care. After this, first-aid people, ambulance personnel,
other emergency crews and police did what they could. Now we are sitting here and can ascertain that eight people
are dead and three injured," a visibly shaken Leif Skov told a press conference early on Saturday morning at the
festival's head office.

The festival continues.
 
 

June 30, 2000

Statement from Pearl Jam in Response to Roskilde Festival Tragedy

Copenhagen, Denmark-This is so painful...I think we are all waiting for someone to wake us and say it was just a
horrible nightmare.

And there are absolutely no words to express our anguish in regard to the parents and loved ones of these precious
lives that were lost.

We have not yet been told what actually occurred, but it seemed to be random and sickeningly quick& it doesn't
make sense.

When you agree to play at a festival of this size and reputation it is impossible to imagine such a heart-wrenching
scenario.

Our lives will never be the same, but we know that is nothing compared to the grief of the families and friends of
those involved.

It is so tragic ... there are no words.

Devastated,

--Pearl Jam
 
 

8 Dead in Denmark Pearl Jam Concert

By JAN M. OLSEN
.c The Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (June 30) - Fans rushed the stage during a Pearl Jam concert at a Danish rock
festival late Friday, crushing to death at least eight people and injuring three others, police said.

Members of the rock band appealed to the crowd to move back, but were unable to prevent the massive surge
forward, Danish radio reported.

''Several people were crushed or trampled to death,'' police said in a statement. The rush occurred at 11:40 p.m.,
police said, adding that the identities of the victims were not immediately available.

After the stampede, the performance at the Roskilde festival's main stage was halted, the radio said. The stage
was one of seven stages hosting performances during the four-day event, Europe's largest. About 100,000
tickets were sold, but it was not immediately clear how many people attended the concert.

It rained much of Friday, and the festival grounds were muddy. With the crowd edging ever closer, the band called
on fans to move back, festival spokesman Leif Skov said. The message was repeated by loudspeakers.

Pearl Jam broke off its performance and the next show by the British band The Cure was canceled in ''respect for
the dead,'' Skov said. The deaths were announced over loudspeakers and some concert goers began crying,
Danish radio reported.

Performances at the six other stages continued Saturday night, and were scheduled to resume on the main stage
Saturday afternoon.

The Roskilde festival, first held in 1971, was inspired by the 1969 Woodstock Festival in the United States. It is
held annually on a farm in Roskilde, 25 miles west of the capital, Copenhagen.

It was one of Europe's worst concert tragedies. Last year, 52 people were killed and 150 injured at a concert at
Minsk, Belarus, when a hailstorm hit and hundreds of fans rushed for a nearby subway station, an exodus that
quickly became a deadly stampede.

In 1979, 11 people were trampled to death in Cincinnati as they rushed for choice seats before the start of a
concert by the British rock band The Who.

AP-NY-06-30-00 2303EDT
 
 

http://www.politiken.dk/
http://www.jp.dk/
http://www.bt.dk/
 

(Thanks to Darius, J, Ivy, Henrik, Jason Fabrice, Bjorn, Simon, Lo, Lars, MattCURE for their help with this story)

Newsflash:

The Cure show at Roskilde tonight has been canceled due to a horrible accident. According to early reports, 5
people died in the crush of the crowd at the front of the stage during the Pearl Jam performance. More than 15
people were heavily injured and Pearl Jam stopped their show after 30 minutes.

The Cure stage equipment had already been set up (except for the guitars) when they said that The Cure would
not play. They said that Robert was sorry to have to cancel, but they would be back another time.

Everyone at the site is said to be very shocked, but no one really complained about The Cure not playing after
such a tragedy. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the victims.

Update 1: Music 365 has an earlier report which says 15 people were injured, but doesn't mention any fatalities. They say they will have an update as soon as possible.

Update 2: Both MSNBC & CNN is now reporting at least 8 people dead, 10 injured at Roskilde.

And here's a report from Darius who was at the show:

"Exact figures will be known probably only tomorrow morning (Danish time). Leif Skov (main organizer of the
festival) said, that few people were killed and about 20 heavily injured during Pearl Jam performance. I was
standing in about 15 meters from the place, where everything was happening, and it really scared us. Actually
almost no one in the crowd realized, that people were killed, until there was an official announcement. I have talked
with the guys who were trying to help those who fell down. They said that it was almost impossible, because they
were lying and those who were standing couldn't get out or step aside because of the huge pressure. So the victims
were stepped over head, breast and they couldn't get out until Eddie Veder stopped the concert and asked
everyone to step back.

I feel so sorry about what has happened. And for me in so strange, that it has happened in Roskilde. I am the third
year in a row in Roskilde and every time I saw how people are always helping each other in such situations..."

Update 3: Reuters is now reporting the official numbers from the Copenhagen police as 9 dead, 3 seriously injured and 26 who needed hospital treatment.

The Jyllands-Posten newspaper is also covering the story.