Most everyone here has heard of the three major stage collapses since July 17. The first major issue this summer was in Ottawa, Canada, during a Cheap Trick concert where a storm took down a stage and severely injured two crew members. Then on August 13, a stage collapse took 5 lives and injured over 50 persons at the Indiana State Fairgrounds... and now, yesterday, August 18, another similarly designed stage collapsed in Belgium in a weather situation, killing several more persons and injuring close to 100.

According to a press release from AP, there is... "NO AGENCY in most countries or US states, that is chartered to do temporary event stage safety or construction inspections. The 'industry' regulates itself..."

The industry may regulate itself, but that type of self regulation IS KILLING PEOPLE on a regular basis.

Many of us who perform for spectators feel terrible that the stages are not being secured properly for as little as 35 MPH (56KPH) winds. There has been very little or no preventive measures taken by "promoters" or "producers" to monitor weather conditions and to send the audience to a safe location until the weather calms down. They are presumably thinking about profits ahead of spectator and performer safety. What else can we think?

Hopefully OSHA, in the US, will step up to the plate and coordinate inspections and require that weather situations be monitored at such events as well as establishing safety standards for temporary stage construction and requiring an evacuation plan at each venue to prevent persons from being close to a stage when weather fronts move through.

Anyone who has been at a location where this has taken place and people have died, will not forget it very soon.

I've worked on stages at corporate shows that made you nervous just to walk across them (not to mention half-baked convention-hall light rigging... I've seen more than one heavy industrial can hit the deck).

But the show must go on, eh? Nobody ever said 2 hours before doors, "Hey, this seems a little rickety... maybe we should call it off!"

_________________
Jim Bordner
Gravity Music - www.gravitymusic.com
Composer, producer, Egnater Artist

I'm in full Sympathy with all your sentiments. In most States there are fue permit requirements for Temporary structures. We need to start by getting some laws on the books. Most out door event Stages that I've seen are portable scaffolding designed for construction work. When you add a tower and a SALE like roof and backdrop your asking for disaster. the slightest wind turnes it into a Massive source of energy and away it goes. I certainly don't know the answers,but if some industry standards are put into place I think we will see a reduction in this kind of tragedy.
----Danny,