Man Falls To His Death At Wembley Oasis Concert

[RabbitsRock]

Just reading a thread on Redditt about this. Terrible situation. The thing that sticks with you the most is the insane amount of alcohol that was being consumed ( it hasn’t been stated that the man who fell was drunk but a lot of people were) & apparently Wembley Stadium proudly claimed they’d sold 250K pints. Not sure if that was in one night. Many concertgoers had been drinking all day & some could hardly stand up, plus the stadium floors were like ice rinks from spilt beer (it was being thrown everywhere). I don’t drink anymore but even when I did, I couldn’t get my head round why people feel the need to get absolutely steaming drunk to have a good time.

I believe it was right after the show just as people were getting ready to go home

Oasis are due to finish their set at 10.15pm, although I imagine it overruns slightly occasionally. It happened at 10.19pm.

I didn’t realise quite how low the barriers are!

Image will be pending approval.

Me neither. After the man fell during the England v Croatia Euros match in 2021, Wembley Stadium’s former General Manager was quoted in an article about safe standing barriers and said that man had fallen from the upper tier at Wembley over a barrier that was 80cm high: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/18/safe-standing-barriers-are-anything-but-says-former-wembley-stadium-manager

I can't understand this either it just seems such a waste of money to buy tickets then either be drunk or spend most of time queuing at the bar

I've never understood it either. My neighbour worked a Andre Rieu show recently and Rieu apparently commented on the people going in/out during the show (presumably bar/toilets).

The Guardian carrying the story of people's concerns of the heavy drinking that was happening and the apparently lax security. Don't know how the drinking can be controlled unless the licence was revoked.

This is very tragic for the man and his family and I wouldn't want to speculate on what lead to his fall. It could have been alcohol related, but it could have been due to a health incident or he could have just lost his footing.

For many years I worked as bar staff at my local events venue. We were no where near the size of Wembley, but we did have some bands that had become big after booking us as part of their tour, as well as older bands who still had a big following. Newer bands with a younger following tended to have fans who maybe bought a drink or two, but were very much there to see the performance. It was noticeable that when the customers were 40s, 50s or early 60s for certain types of performances the drinking and behaviour were ridiculous. There was one show I can remember where the staff were all WTF why are so many people constantly in the bar and is anyone in the auditorium sober enough to remember any of it.

I find it sad that heavy drinking is so embedded in this age group as part of a special night out (I'm also in this age group). I'm put off from going to gigs as I don't really enjoy the behaviour of really drunk people and find it intimidating. I do find some hope that younger generations seem to be less interested in getting drunk and are more open to actually enjoying an experience.

I'm 54 and have said to DH that I'm just too old for concerts now as the last few we've been to have been completely ruined by drunks and they're of our age! We saw Springsteen at Cardiff last year and coming out, a man in front of us fell over in front of us face down onto a curb. Took half his face and teeth out, I've never seen blood like it and people were just trying to walk over him. It was really upsetting and he must have been in his 60s!

Those seats at Wembley are pretty horrific, the barriers are so low.

I went to Wembley stadium circa 2007 (just after it opened) to watch MUSE
and must have been lucky to have seats lower down as I don't remember it being that high.

However- went to the O2 for Alanis morrissette last weekend and Oh My God it was high!! (Was on the 400 seats, 3 rows from the top 😱) It was petrifying and so dangerous.I sat glued to my seat and was literally having to take deep breaths to acclimatise myself and clung on for dear life not looking down as I climbed the steps to the seat as i'm not great with heights.The ledge was soo narrow and the seats in front only came upto shin height.

I honestly don't know how it's allowed....such a steep drop too.

It was an accident waiting to happen and now sadly (albeit at another venue) it has 🥺

I went to a gig recently and was so high up. The barrier was really low and I was quite anxious.

actually i am nervous at theatre, one of them in london,

Seems to be an issue with design of stadiums, it shouldn't be possible to fall like this (unless you are doing something very risky like standing on your seat at the front row of seating tier etc)
Alcohol is sold but maybe they should refuse to serve drunk people but is really hard on, probably low paid staff to police.
Its an extremely sad incident.
I going to O2 in a few months and only seat a available are up in the gods. I paused before booking them. I haven't been to O2 before but hoping it will be OK.
It sounds like people really struggle with these ridiculous seating arrangements, what were the stadium designers thinking of?! Oh wait... Money.....

In my experience drinking isnt such a big part of the culture for under 30s as it has been for previous generations.

Of course lots of under 30s still get wasted regularly but there seems to be less desire to go out and just get drunk for the sake of it. Maybe its price driven or that nightlife looks very different these days?

The last few times Ive been out it's been with mixed ages and most of the younger people either stayed sober or just had a few drinks. A fight broke out (not our group) and a lot of the younger people started leaving quite soon after. Most said they said they couldnt be arsed with dealing with people who cant hold their drink.

When I was their age (God, listen to me!) it was a badge of honour if you got so drunk you couldnt remember the night. The younger people just thought that was ridiculous and embarrassing.

Having said that, people seem much more blatent about drugs. For instance, I was walking past a pub late afternoon last week and overheard people talking. Someone had clearly just called his dealer and sure enough someone turned up and not very discretely sold him something from a little satchel.

This is why if I cannot get floor tickets then I don’t go.
The stands can be so crazy high and it just makes me feel very anxious about a fall.
The poor man, as an avid concert goer, nobody should ever go to a show and not come home

God, his poor family. He looks like such a nice guy.

Dutchhouse14 I'm not great with heights so, like PP, I'd rather not go if the only seats available are the high ones.

However, years ago we were offered tickets to see Stevie wonder with a friend, 2 friends were unable to go so, free tickets! Obviously I said yes. They were right at the top on the very top row. OMG I was so scared. I did manage to stand up but I had one hand behind me, holding onto my seat the entire time.

It's all been said but there's nothing in front of you so it just 'makes' you feel unsafe, & barely any room for your feet. I remember my friend saying 'Why are you standing like that? You look weird!' & I said 'I just can't bring myself to let go of my seat, I'm too scared'

Whenever I tell anybody about this concert it's like 'Yeah Stevie was amazing, but we were right at the top. Never again!'

Sorry, I don't want to scare you but it's better to be aware, than not, isn't it?! & You will probably be fine!

I'm so sorry to hear about this man, such a sad end to what was hopefully an amazing evening.

I’ve cut from the original thread to your reply. The steep slope on the seating is insane. Obviously designed for maximum views for all, but maybe someone drunk, someone else flailing around who is drunk; or plain slipping.

No. I can entirely see how this happens.

I was at 02 last week and without realising how high it was had booked into 418 row R.....3 rows from the roof 😱
Not gonna lie, it was pretty terrifying, and if I'm honest it definitely did impact my enjoyment of the gig as I did get vertigo and couldn't stand up and dance like I usually would.I'm not good with heights though and I just about coped, so if you don't get vertigo you will likely find it somewhat easier.

However, I would still rather have been there than missed the gig.I am also back there in afew months to see 5ive....we booked it ages ago and the seats are high again 🤦♀️ Although 404 so not as bad at least.

I don't think i would ever book them that high in future again though....would rather pay £200+ but be able to enjoy it more.

This is making me feel better. I’m taking DD 12 to Wembley to see Oasis at the end of Sept. Our seats are level 2 but I have been concerned

I was there on Sunday and didn’t see any of that either.

There were lots of families around us, people were in great moods, really enjoying themselves, and dancing and singing their hearts out. You’ll have a great time x

Even if he were drunk, I don't think he's in any way accountable for his death. He wasn't climbing a mountain, he was in a venue selling alcohol. There is a reasonable expectation that the arena would have completed risk assessments prior to holding events for thousands of people and that there were adequate barriers in place to prevent people from falling.

Stadiums should be built to ensure safety. Someone should be able to enjoy a few drinks whilst watching a concert without the risk of falling from the stands.

Makes me wonder what the hell would happen if there was an emergency like a fire - how would they get that many people out with such dangerous walkways & everyone pushing

Thank you so much for posting this. I was starting to get pretty anxious.

Sounds like he slipped on spilt beer 😔They're going to have to do something 😔

I was there the night he fell.

Same side, lower tier a few over. Had absolutely no idea until the next day this happened.

i can’t stop thinking about it. The concert and atmosphere was incredible. I cannot comprehend someone losing their life with us all there having the most amazing time.

I really hope they find out exactly what happened. People in his tier would have most likely seen it.

my heart breaks for him and his family. And the people who witnessed it. Just devastating.