‘Dangerous stampede’ breaks out outside Louis Tomlinson concert venue in Brisbane
The singer has taken his world tour to Australia. (Chiaki Nozu/WireImage/TikTok/@teganelynn)
Louis Tomlinson fans are reported to be injured following a “dangerous stampede” outside of the singer’s concert venue in Brisbane.
The former One Direction star took his Faith In The Future World Tour to Australia this month, with a headline show in the Queensland capital city on 30 January at Riverstage.
According to the Brisbane Times, a large group of concertgoers lined up on the night of 29 January ready to camp outside the venue in a bid to nab a front-row spot for the 6 pm show a day later. But ticketholders were turned away at the time due to weather warnings.
The venue instead promised that numbered wristbands would be handed out from 9.30 am on the day of the concert for a 5.15 pm gate entry that night. However, the outlet reported that exclusive “golden” wristbands for priority entry were handed out to those who turned up a day early, flouting the previous rules.
Overnight, 2000 new fans surrounded the venue as they handed out 500 blue-numbered wristbands, according to reports. One concertgoer, Samantha Maguire, said that the new fans heard about the “golden” wristbands, and fights ensued in the crowds.
“We were getting thrown against the trees,” said Madison Francis to the publication. “A mum lost her two daughters, they were like 10 and nine years old.
“It was very dangerous, there were a couple of injuries. One girl next to me had a panic attack and full-on collapsed and had to be carried out. There was quite a lot of heartbreak and tears today.”
Another TikToker, Courtney, reported that the “stampede” started at 2.45 pm on the day of the concert when one fan opened the gate surrounding the crowds to get ahead of the numbered wristband-holders. She also explained that the wristband-holders were simply following venue rules.
Brisbane City Council, which manages the Riverstage venue, has said that they will improve the management of events in future.
”Due to severe weather warnings, council officers acted in the interests of young fans who had queued early, despite the rules against this,” a council spokesperson said to the publication.
“The event promoter later opted to honour the wristbands handed out by officers. Council will be having discussions with all promoters to ensure their events are safely managed.”
PinkNews has contacted a representative of Louis Tomlinson and Live Nation Australia for a comment on the matter.
