Love Parade 2010 Becomes Death March
The 2010 Love Parade in Duisburg, Germany has ended in horrific fashion as at least 19 people have died in a stampede. Hundreds of others were injured, some seriously, as panic broke out in a tunnel when the overcrowded festival site was closed for fear of just such a mishap.
Organizers of the 2010 Love Parade apparently expected far fewer participants to the techno festival according to reports. It is estimated that as many as 1.5 million young people from all over Europe packed the venues, as well as the town of Duisburg, while only a maximum of 800,000 were anticipated.
Reports say 1900 police and emergency personnel were initially on hand to assist in managing the huge crowds, but what unfolded Saturday overwhelmed even those.
The organizers had opened an additional stage adjacent to the main venue just to accommodate the rapidly growing numbers of festival attendees apparently. A tunnel connecting the two areas became a choke point rapidly, young people on one side or the other wanting to move to the other area.
When massive numbers of people pushing in both directions clogged the tunnel, a panic ensued causing many to be trampled, or worse, have the life basically squeezed out of them by the weight of the opposing mass of humanity.
The aftermath, a gruesome scene inside the tunnel
The scene according to some eyewitnesses was nothing less than ghastly, the bodies of those killed an injured littering the area. Police and emergency workers could not even get to those injured because of the huge numbers of people in the way. Official spokespeople from the organizers, police and others have expressed their dismay and sorrow over the events, but no real explanation has been given. Ironically, organizers allowed the festival to go forward for fear stopping it would cause even more panic.
It is easy to be critical of these organizers and the police in such a situation. Reports that people near the tunnel called police at least one hour before the panic occurred cast a negative shadow on their response and handling of the situation now. Ultimately the organizers and leading police and city officials bear the accountability for these injuries and deaths. Contingencies for such situations should have been considered in any plan to entertain crowds approaching this magnitude.
It seems almost inconceivable something like this could happen here in Germany, where efficiency and planning are actually cutting edge – especially where police are concerned. No matter what facts emerge in the upcoming investigation, the possibility of 700,000 people pushing at opposing ends of this tunnel simply had to be taken into account.
Police coordination in closing down roads and halting young people at the local train station is commendable, as well as efforts be emergency personnel who finally reached the tunnel to resuscitate and evacuate those injured. It’s just sad to think of those 19 whose lives ended because someone failed in their job. Love Parade 2010 ended in stark contrast to its intent. As you can see in the Google satellite image below, the massive underground and highway tunnel system should have been a point of extreme scrutiny.
Choke point where tens, maybe hundreds of thousands crowded
In contrast to Love Parade 2010, the Woodstock Festival in 1969 saw 500,000 attendees, but only 3 deaths – 2 to drug overdose and one who was run over by a tractor. The first Love Parade was in 1989. Since then the event has been held sporadically, and the 2009 edition in Bochum was canceled for the very reasons that made Saturday’s turn deadly, the ability of town infrastructure to handle massive crowds.
Love Parade 2010 halted their live feed of the event in honor of those who died. You can see the scene of the tragic stampede, the tunnel where emergency personnel rescued many, in the video below.
About the Author
Phil Butler is editor-in-chief of Everything PR and senior partner at Pamil Visions PR. He’s a widely cited authority on beta startups, search engines and public relations issues, and he has covered tech news since 2004. Phil wrote in the past for ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, Profy, SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, AltSearchEngines. Follow Phil on Twitter or send him an email at phil [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.
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Comment by Betsy on 26 July 2010:
Oh dear, what a tragedy. So very sad.
Comment by Sam on 26 July 2010:
This makes me to feel so sad. Its terrible when something that’s supposed to be fun turns into something so terrible and dangerous. this is why i’m always afraid to go to events where there’s so many people
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Comment by Jo in Minneapolis on 27 July 2010:
Why on earth are you having a memorial in that same town for 20 people? How can you assure you won’t cause another RIOT of a crowd that size? It should be moved to an area that can accommodate another HUGE crowd. Didn’t you learn enough from one disaster? This is so sad.
Comment by Dr. M. on 27 July 2010:
What started out as a funny idea became a huge big business over the years. It became a major event, attractive for cities and communities and obviously the possible revenues from such an event made all safety concerns vanish into thin air. The event was not approved until shortly before the beginning, due to those safety concerns, then the city of Duisburg approved it anyway.
Just watched a TV commercial for the official “Love Parade 2010 DVD”, the transmitting TV station (“Pro 7″) obviously had their fingers in the production of this DVD and they don’t know any piety when it comes to still pushing this product. But it also shows nicely what this Love Parade event was all about, some license to print money where 20 dead are merely a “calculated risk”. “We make an event to get your money and should you die during that event, thank you very much for the news you delivered”.