Latest news with #SanFermin
The Print
5 days ago
- Science
- The Print
Bengaluru stampede tragedy: What science tells us about crowd control
Several stampedes have occurred in India just this year. On 15 February, a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station killed 18 people, including many passengers who were travelling to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, which also experienced a stampede in January. At least 30 people died at the religious gathering as crowd management measures failed. Published in Nature in February, the study analysed video footage from Spain's San Fermin festival, popular for its running of the bulls event held in July every year. Researchers found that when crowds reached a certain density, spontaneous and rhythmic patterns emerged. Termed 'collective oscillation', the crowd self-organised, and began forming involuntary large-scale, wave-like patterns. New Delhi : A stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's victory celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed 11 lives Wednesday, and injured several others. Stampedes are recurring tragedies in India, but a study by French and Spanish researchers suggests that patterns emerge in tightly packed crowds. The correct identification of these oscillations, and monitoring via drones and CCTVs, can ensure crowd control and safety during mass gatherings, it says. While these events haven't undergone any scientific scrutiny, the observations from the study in Nature have the potential to help organisers prevent the next stampede. In an interview to The New York Times, France-based physicist Dr. Denis Bartolo, who co-authored the study, said that he placed cameras across the plaza to film the movements of the crowd below. At first, it seemed 'erratic, chaotic, turbulent'. But Bartolo and his team applied fluid dynamic techniques to 'measure the flow of a material by inspecting its direction and velocity'. Similar orbital motions—which took 18 seconds to complete in that particular plaza—were detected right before a stampede that took place at the 2010 Love Parade in Duisburg, Germany, the study shows. The researchers found that above a critical density of people, these oscillations emerge almost organically, without any external guidance. These oscillations are caused by random interactions between people—a slight nudge to gain space, a shuffling of feet, or even an adjustment of posture. These 'odd frictional forces' provide a sort of collective quality to the crowd, leading the mass to exhibit properties similar to fluids. By mapping where and when oscillations start, organisers of mass events can use monitoring tools, like drones or CCTVs, to identify areas in the crowd before a disaster occurs. If these circular motions are detected, the relevant action can be taken, thereby averting stampede-like situations. A similar study, published in Nature in December 2024, studied how crowds behave in marathon events, where groups of runners move in the same direction. Particularly, the goal was to 'investigate the impact of race staff on crowd dynamics'. Similar to ripples in water, the simulations showed wave-like patterns coursing through the crowd. 'We can very clearly observe that starting from the initial homogeneous and random velocity of particles, density and velocity patterns are formed,' read the report by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University. But an NYT report warned that real-world applications may be limited—'It's one thing to have a well-lit venue filmed with high-quality cameras. But grainy nighttime security footage, for instance, may not reveal the telltale circular movements.' However, recognising that patterns form right before stampede-like events is the first step to building effective crowd management techniques. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: 'My brother was crazy about cricket, it took his life': Chinnaswamy stampede leaves families devastated
CBS News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
How Charlene Kaye turned pop parody, culture clash and comedy into viral gold
Charlene Kaye talks music and going viral with pop parodies Charlene Kaye on rewriting the rules of pop Charlene Kaye on rewriting the rules of pop When Charlene Kaye first posted her Taylor Swift parody, she was so terrified of fan backlash that she only shared it on her Instagram close friends story. "That is how afraid I was of the Swifties coming to murder me," she said. Now, the classically trained musician-turned-comedian has millions of views for her viral interpretations of pop music's biggest stars, dissecting everything from Swift to Lady Gaga's signature "ro-ma-ma-poo-poo-pee-pee-ka-ka-ka" lyrics. Kaye, who has a background in classical music theory, gained widespread attention last year when her collection of musical parodies went viral on platforms like TikTok. She breaks down the common musical elements from of the most popular songs and highlights what makes their songs so recognizable. "Because I have background in classical music theory and because I also have a sense of humor, I was like, what if I just wrote a song that had all of the tropes that I notice," Kaye said. The strategy worked. Pop star Chappell Roan even responded positively to her own parody, commenting "Exactly! You get it!" Born in Honolulu to her mother Lily, a Chinese immigrant, Kaye's family eventually moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she was raised. Her musical journey began with guitar lessons in her bedroom and performances at local open mic nights and coffee shops. "It was kind of a fight to assert my own identity and my own experience," she said. Her decision to pursue music professionally created tension with her immigrant mother, who grew up in poverty in 1960s Singapore. "It is a luxury and a privilege to be a creative person," Kaye said. While studying English at the University of Michigan with plans to become a teacher, Kaye made a different choice. "I ditched all my classes to play rock shows, find my people and decide that I wanted to be a rockstar," she said. Her early career included playing guitar for the cult favorite parody "A Very Potter Musical" alongside her friend, actor Darren Criss. She later moved to New York and joined indie rock band San Fermin. Kaye's comedy work draws heavily from her relationship with her mother. She produced a one-woman show titled "Tiger Daughter, Or How I Brought My Immigrant Mother Ultimate Shame." @itscharlenekaye Love you @Taylor Swift 💝 come see me live at the Bell House 2/25, NY! ♬ original sound - Charlene Kaye The show explores the concept of a "tiger daughter," the child of a demanding "tiger mother," who pushes children toward high achievement. Despite its rebellious humor, Kaye describes the show as ultimately a love letter to her mother. When asked if her mother is proud of her, Kaye said, "I think she is in her own way. I think we'll always, there will always be a deep core of love even if there isn't the understanding part."
Metro
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Metro
British motorcyclist, 62, killed in head-on crash in Spain
A British motorcyclist has been killed in a harrowing head-on crash with a van in northern Spain. The 62-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene yesterday afternoon. The incident happened on a road running beside the A-12 motorway, about a 35-minute drive from the city of Pamplona where the famous San Fermin festival takes place every year. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Ryanair told to refund passenger £124 after court rules hand luggage is essential MORE: 'What more could you want?' Your favourite European beaches that aren't full of tourists MORE: 'Destination dupes' are more popular than ever – these are the best for 2025
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
British motorcyclist, 62, dead after head-on crash in northern Spain
A British motorcyclist has died in a car accident in northern Spain. The 62-year-old collided head-on with a van this afternoon on a road running beside the A-12 motorway, in a municipality called Iguzkitza around a 35-minute drive from Pamplona where the famous San Fermin festival takes place every year. Emergency services got a call around 1.40pm today. They sent ambulances and a medicalised helicopter to the scene as well as police and firefighters, but there was nothing they could do to save his life. The tragedy happened on the NA-1110 road between Azketa and Iratxe. It was not immediately clear if the dead man was a tourist or someone who lived locally. Pictures from the crash scene showed a white van with its front smashed in by the side of the road next to the motorbike across the tarmac. A spokesman for local firefighters said: 'We were called this afternoon about a front-on collision between a motorbike and a van on the NA-1110. 'The man on the motorbike died and the occupants of the van were unharmed.' Last Saturday a British couple aged 78 and 58 died in a horror crash in Boca de Huergano in the province of Leon, around four hours west of today's fatal accident, after their Ferrari skidded off the road and plunged into a river. The pair, driving a UK-plated vehicle, were found by rescuers after they reached the black Ferrari 488's remains lying in the Yuso river. They were reportedly part of a large convoy of around 20 other Ferrari owners. The group had arrived in the city of Leon, the capital of the province, the day before the crash. Police said earlier this week an investigation into the cause was still underway.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
Spanish prosecutors said Wednesday they would a appeal a court ruling that overturned former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves' rape conviction, a verdict criticised by the government and women's groups. Alves, who won the Champions League three-times with Barcelona, was convicted last year of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona in 2022 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. But a Barcelona appeals court on Friday overturned the lower court's ruling, saying Alves' trial had inconsistencies and contradictions, and there was insufficient evidence to prove he was guilty. The appeals court said the accuser was an "unreliable complainant" since her testimony "differed notably" from evidence of video footage taken before she and Alves entered the bathroom where she alleges the player forced her to have sex without her consent. The public prosecutor's office in the northeastern region of Catalonia said in a statement it intends to lodge an appeal against the ruling, without giving further details. Hundreds of people rallied in Barcelona on Monday against the appeal court ruling, in a demonstration organised by feminist groups. Many carried signs calling the court decision "unacceptable" and calling for it to be revoked. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Saturday it was a "shame" that the testimony of a rape victim "is still being questioned" and that the "presumption of innocence is said to take precedence over the testimony of young, brave women". She apologised on Tuesday, saying she did not mean to call "into question the presumption of innocence" but reaffirmed her view that the appeals court decision to annul Alves' conviction is "a step backwards". Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a self-described feminist, has made the fight against sexual violence a priority. His minority government reformed the country's criminal code in 2022 to define all non-consensual sex as rape in response to the case of an 18-year-old woman who was gang raped by five men during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona. Alves, now 41, was kept in jail since his arrest in January 2023 until March 2024, when he was released pending his appeal after he posted the one million euros ($1.1million) bail set by the courts. rs/ds/nr
