Oasis fans at Wembley gig where man died question alcohol use and security

The Guardian

3 days ago

Oasis fans who witnessed a fatal fall at Wembley stadium during a reunion concert on Saturday have questioned the security setup and the amount of alcohol being consumed in the stands.
The Metropolitan police said a man in his 40s died after suffering injuries consistent with a fall at the end of the band's performance at about 10.19pm on Saturday night. On Monday, the Met announced that the Health and Safety Executive, the body which investigates accidents, had been informed.
Witnesses who were 10 ft (3 metres) from where the man landed said he fell from the upper tier of Wembley's block 511, on to the aisle between block 211 and block 210.
Emma, 40, from Liverpool, said the man landed next to a row behind her and her partner, Mike, only five seats away.
'I've been feeling awful ever since – I can't stop thinking about him,' she said. 'It happened directly behind our right shoulders. If he had fallen where someone was sitting, it would have killed both people.'
Within seconds of the fall, several staff began trying to perform CPR on the man. Mike said: 'It's quite traumatic, seeing people just doing CPR on someone frantically. I haven't been able to focus on anything else.'
Both Emma and Mike, who declined to give their full names, urged Wembley to review safety and alcohol sales at the stadium.
Emma said: 'So much beer was being thrown throughout the whole concert. I was surprised they allowed people to bring drinks into the stands. It made the floor really slippy.'
She added: 'They should put the security guard at the bottom of all the aisles too, and permanently station them there to stop people falling off.'
Mike, who works in health and safety, said: 'Beer was coming from everywhere. I got hit by an empty cup right on the side of the head. If it had been full it would really have hurt. We started getting beer on us from the moment Oasis came on stage.'
John, 52, a delivery driver from Oxford who also declined to give his full name, saw many fans leaning over the balcony from block 511.
He said: 'There were loads of people who just kept going down to the front and leaning right over. One guy was stopped but after that no security came down. The security was so lax. There's a rail and a small guard but it did make me think someone could quite easily get knocked off there.'
John added: 'It seemed unsafe. If they'd have actually posted a security guard at the bottom of those steps, where people were continually going, it would prevented the fall.'
He was also surprised by the level of drinking at the gig. 'The amount of alcohol that was sold on the night was quite shocking. I constantly saw people with cardboard cup holders full of pints,' John said.
Last week the Times revealed that Oasis fans were consuming an average of 250,000 pints a night during the Wembley gigs.
Wembley Stadium has been approached for comment. In a statement on Sunday it said: 'The police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.'
Saturday's concert was the fourth of seven sold-out reunion gigs at Wembley Stadium. Despite the tragedy on Saturday, the fifth gig on Sunday went ahead as planned. The sixth and seventh gigs will be in September.