Back -
Index
- Submissions
- 
- What is RSS?
Date: Oct 02, 2098
Source:
Submitted By:
Thursday, August 20, 1998
EDMONTON -- Sun News
Hysteria at Tuesday's Backstreet Boys concert that caused a crush of young fans at stage-front and sent 19 for first aid was simply part of the show, the stadium director says.
Commonwealth Stadium's Doug McLennan said the band and its promoter asked for the festival-style seating, which let 1,000 youngsters rush up to a steel stage barricade.
"They like to have that kind of direct contact with their fans," said McLennan.
"They time their act so it's the maximum amount of excitement built up."
That excitement sent several 13- and 14-year-old girls to the first-aid tent for treatment, said McLennan.
"They were overwhelmed at the moment and needed some help at that time," he said, guessing that 75% of the crowd was between the ages of 12 and 14.
Two people were taken to hospital during the concert -- one for kidney stones and another after he re-injured a broken leg. The rest merely fainted or hyperventilated, he said.
Teens weren't the only ones caught in the crush. From his swollen knee, you'd think Sun photographer Perry Mah had just returned from a war in Europe or the Middle East. He was stuck between the stage and the crowd.
"I was scared," said the shooter.
"The girls were like piranhas in a feeding frenzy. These kids didn't care about anything but getting to the front of the stage. It was a stampede."
As security guards rescued breathless girls from the crowd by pulling them over the guard rail, the hapless shooter was shoved by a burly Backstreet bodyguard, twisting his knee and pulling his hamstring.
Sun scribe Mike Ross was also recovering yesterday after he hurt his neck in an accident on the way to cover the show.
The rock critic was driving to the stadium about 6:30 p.m. when his car was rear-ended at 91 Street and Jasper Avenue.
He pulled a neck muscle and never made it to the show.
"From what I heard it sounded like it was a battleground," Ross said yesterday after hearing about the hormone-fuelled chaos that erupted the second the boys took the stage.
Police brought in 12 officers to help with crowd control as the fans lined up, said police spokesman Kelly Gordon. "It was merely the presence of their uniforms that settled people down," he said.
"There were no major incidents."
McLennan said the hysteria "was relatively small in putting into perspective the number of people here.
"There really wasn't a big press problem at the front of the stage."
Edmonton was the sole outdoor show for the group on their Canadian tour. But Ross isn't miffed he missed it.
"I probably had a better time riding in the ambulance than I would have at the concert," he added.
"The Backstreet Boys just aren't my cup of tea."
Comment on this item.
Recent Comments
Submitted by: Kevin Shen
Submitted by: Halz
Submitted by: Edward
Submitted by: John
Submitted by: Ann Elisabeth
Submitted by: Joe
Submitted by: Halz
Submitted by: Mary
Submitted by: Michael Pollitt
Comment
on this item.
Next Item: Tears Of Joy Turn To Tears Of Sorrow (August '98) from th Edmonton Journal
Prev Item: Hanging with... Backstreet Boys (Teen People, August '98)
|