The Deadly City College Stampede Involving Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Wasn’t the First or Last Tragedy Caused by Overcrowded Concerts
The Fall of Diddy provided many revelations about the maligned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. The Investigation Discovery docuseries interviewed over a dozen former colleagues, who shared their experiences of Combs’ alleged abuse and deception over the years. One of the most surprising elements of The Fall of Diddy involves the fatal overcrowding of a charity basketball game, which Diddy co-hosted and promoted.
In 1991, Combs was an up-and-coming talent at Uptown Records, looking to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. The Harlem native co-hosted a celebrity charity basketball game at New York City’s City College, reports The Express Tribune. He allegedly promoted the venue as holding 10,000 people, when the school’s gymnasium held less than 3,000. After more than 5,000 fans swarmed the venue, they got trapped in a staircase. The bottleneck resulted in nine deaths, with over 29 people getting crushed in the chaos.
Combs was accused of poor planning, overselling tickets, and failing to provide adequate security. He and his co-host, rapper Heavy D, were held 50% responsible. City College received the other 50% of the blame. Diddy settled civil suits with several families of those lost in the tragedy, but he was not criminally charged.
The then-22-year-old never issued a formal apology. Combs did testify during a 1998 suit, according to The New York Times, “City College is something I deal with every day of my life.” Diddy’s first public scandal calls to mind other times when overcrowded concerts and music artist-related events resulted in horrible tragedies.
Astroworld Festival disaster (2021)
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Artist: Travis Scott
- Fatalities: 10
- Cause: Overcrowding and a crowd surge during the performance led to crushing injuries.
We can’t discuss overcrowding without mentioning the 2021 Astroworld Festival. On November 5, the show resulted in 10 deaths via a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s set. Hundreds of attendees were injured, and the rapper was criticized for encouraging violence at his shows. Scott said he was unaware of the crowd surge, reports Billboard. He stated, “I am absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
A grand jury declined to indict Scott in 2023. He launched the Project HEAL initiative to support festival safety improvements and mental health resources. Live Nation and ScoreMore reached settlements with some of the victims’ families due to negligence regarding security failures and crowd control.
AC/DC concert stampede (1991)
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Artist: AC/DC
- Fatalities: 3
- Cause: Fans rushed the stage, leading to crushing injuries.
When AC/DC began performing on February 18, 1991, the crowd rushed toward the Salt Palace stage, resulting in three deaths. Authorities were criticized for inadequate safety measures and insufficient crowd control. However, an investigation found that the fatalities resulted from crowd behavior. No formal criminal charges were filed against Salt Lake City officers or those affiliated with AC/DC.
Singer Brian Johnson called it a “terrible night,” saying “I’ll never forget it for as long as I live,” reports Ultimate Classic Rock. “Angus [Young] was beside himself,” he continued. “I could see he was welling up. Mal [Young] was trying to hold it together as best he could.” AC/DC donated a portion of their 1991-92 tour proceeds to the victims’ families.
The Station nightclub fire stampede (2003)
- Location: West Warwick, Rhode Island
- Artist: Great White
- Fatalities: 100
- Cause: A fire broke out due to pyrotechnics, causing a panic-driven stampede toward exits.
On February 20, 2003, Great White set off pyrotechnics during their show at The Station nightclub. The fire ignited highly flammable foam used for soundproofing, killing 100 attendees and injuring more than 200 more. Several people were held accountable, reports CBS News, including club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele. Charges resulted in a plea deal (Jeffrey) and prison time (Michael and Biechele). Victims’ families filed lawsuits, leading to $176 million in settlements.
Roskilde Festival tragedy (2000)
- Location: Roskilde, Denmark
- Artist: Pearl Jam
- Fatalities: 9
- Cause: Fans surged toward the stage, trampling those who fell into the mud.
When Pearl Jam fans rushed the stage at the Roskilde Festival, lead singer Eddie Vedder tried to intervene. “Stop! We need help here!” he shouted, according to Louder Sound. Sadly, nine men died after being trampled in the mud. Danish authorities ruled the tragedy an accident, and no one, including festival organizers, was charged. Moving forward, Pearl Jam worked with concert safety experts to improve crowd control at their live events.
The Who concert stampede (1979)
- Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Artist: The Who
- Fatalities: 11
- Cause: A crowd rushed into the venue, trampling people in the process.
Riverfront Coliseum experienced a horrible tragedy on December 3, 1979, when 11 people died in a rush to obtain general admission seats. The victims’ families filed civil lawsuits, which were settled out of court. The Who band members, including Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, were not held responsible.
Even 40 years later, Townshend shared a lot of regrets about the tragedy, as WCPO reports. He regrets going on with the show even though they didn’t know about the deaths until afterward. He also regrets leaving town immediately the next day. “We ran away is what we did,” Townshend said. “I’m sorry, but that’s what happened. We ran away.”
