
A bombing that killed 22 and injured 59 after Ariana Grande‘s concert at Manchester Arena Monday night (May 22) has shaken the English city and the world. It’s the first major terrorist attack on a venue since the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in June of 2016, which left 49 dead and 53 others injured — and sadly, one of many that have occurred in the last 50 years.
The grim list grew longer on Oct. 1, when a lone gunman opened fire from a hotel room across the street from the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 58 at press time and injuring more than 515 in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
In light of the most recent tragedy, we remember some of music’s previous heart-wrenching incidents caused by fire, stampeding fans, violence and more. Below, see a timeline of concert tragedies around the world.
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival, Dec. 6, 1969
Altamont was supposed to be a “Woodstock West” but instead the Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Jefferson Airplane-featuring festival was plagued by violence. With members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club running security, one man was stabbed to death, while another three died accidental deals — two by a hit-and-run car accident and one by drowning in an irrigation canal.
The Who concert disaster, Dec. 3, 1979
Eleven were killed by asphyxiation before a Who concert at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum due to trampling. Fans had grown agitated before the sold out general admission event when the arena’s doors did not open at the scheduled time and when surged when some were eventually opened. The city of Cincinnati imposed a ban on unassigned seating, with minor exceptions, for the next 25 years.
Roskilde Festival, June 30, 2000
Nine people died and another 26 were injured during Pearl Jam‘s concert at the Danish festival in 2000, crushed when the crowd rushed toward the stage. Heavy rainfall and crowd surfing were believed to have been among the precipitating factors — causing the ban of crowd surfing at many European festivals following.
The Station nightclub fire, Feb. 20, 2003
Pyrotechnics set off during a set by hard rock band Great White in West Warwick, R.I., ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings and engulfed the club in flames in about five minutes. Smoke, heat and stampeding people killed 100 and injured 230 in the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.
Dimebag Darrell shooting, Dec. 8, 2004
Pantera-founding member Darrell Lance Abbott aka Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage during a performance with his band Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, just moments into the show. Four were killed in all by the gunman, a 25-year-old former marine, including the band’s head of security Jeff “Mayhem” Thompson and Alrosa Villa employee Erin Halk, who were killed tackling the shooter, and audience member Nathan Bray, who was killed while attempting CPR on Abbott and Thompson.
Sugarland Indiana State Fair stage collapse, Aug. 13, 2011
While the members of Sugarland were in their tour bus preparing to perform at the 2011 Indiana State Fair, a wind gust from an approaching severe thunderstorm hit the stage’s temporary roof structure and caused the stage to collapse. The structure landed on the crowd waiting for the show and killed seven, injuring 58. An investigation found structural insufficiencies to blame for the incident.
Pukkelpop Festival, Aug. 18, 2011
During the opening day of the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium, torrential rain and strong winds knocked over several concert tents, uprooted trees and toppled light towers and video screens. Shortly after Smith Westerns began performing, their stage collapsed and five were killed with at least 140 injured.
Radiohead stage collapse, June 16, 2012
Before a Radiohead show at Toronto’s Downsview Park, a stage collapsed killing a staff member and injuring three while preparing for the night’s concert.
K-pop ventilation grate collapse, Oct. 17, 2014
Sixteen people were killed watching an outdoor concert by girl group 4Minute in Seongnam, South Korea, after falling 20 meters to their deaths when a ventilation grate they were standing on collapsed. Eleven others were seriously injured in the incident.
Romanian nightclub fire, Oct. 30, 2015
A heavy metal band’s pyrotechnical show sparked a deadly fire at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, killing 51 and injuring more. The fire was sparked by pyrotechnics, igniting foam decor. The performing heavy metal band Goodbye to Gravity’s drummer, bassist and two guitarists were all killed.
Le Bataclan shooting, Nov. 13, 2015
During an Eagles of Death Metal concert in the Paris venue, three armed men opened fire into the crowd, which was initially mistaken for pyrotechnics. Following the shooting, the gunmen took a large group of concertgoers hostage as police arrived on the scene. The band was unharmed, but their merchandise manager was killed. Two of the gunmen killed themselves, and the other was killed by police. The incident was the deadliest concert shooting of all time, reportedly leaving 130 dead.
Pulse nightclub shooting, June 12, 2016
Less than a year after the deadliest international concert shooting, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history occurred during Latin night at the Orlando nightclub, where a gunman opened fire around 2 a.m. local time. The incident shook the LGBTQ community, as the nightclub had been known as a safe space. The shooter, who was identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was shot and killed by police after a three-hour standoff.
Manchester Arena bombing, May 22, 2017
As soon as Ariana Grande’s concert at the 21,000-person venue finished, a loud boom was heard in the corner of the arena. Attendees — primarily young girls and parents — scattered in a panic to get out of the arena, as the explosion resulted in a scene of blood and smoke. The bombing killed 22, including an 8-year-old girl, and left 59 others injured. After ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, Manchester police identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the bomber (who died in the attack).
Route 91 Harvest Festival, Oct. 1, 2017
At first, victims thought the loud, rapid series of pops they heard during Jason Aldean‘s headlining set on the final night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas were fireworks celebrating the end of the the event. But as the horrifying reality dawned that lone gunman Stephen Paddock, 64 — killed by police who stormed his hotel room — was raining a non-stop barrage of bullets onto the captive crowd from a 32nd floor window at the Mandalay Bay resort across the street, panic erupted as fans ducked and ran for the exits. As authorities accounted for the number of victims,