Concert chaos as fans stampede
- Source: Global Times
- [08:26 June 01 2010]
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"It's unbelievable that I couldn't get a single ticket! I was in the front of the queue. How could I just go back home peacefully after being fooled like this by the organizers," said Lin Dan, a high school senior from Jiangsu Province. Lin Dan is a fan of Super Junior, a popular boy band from South Korea which was appearing at the concert. She told the Global Times that she waited through the whole night outside Gate No.6 to make sure of a seat at the concert.
The concert, which featured popular bands Super Junior and f(x) and star singers like Ahn Chil Hyun and Kwon BoA, was originally scheduled to start at 7 pm but was postponed by one hour.
Upon learning the news that the show had started, hundreds of fans, who had been waiting in the square outside the Center since early in the morning, burst into tears.
But then they were cheered when the doors to the performance hall were opened.
"We were told that if we lined up in order, they would let us in. So we did this immediately," said teenager Tang Jiao. Tang called the Global Times at 8:30 pm, just after she entered the hall, saying that there were still seats available at that stage.
Other visitors to the Expo had to walk for more than 20 minutes to reach the Saudi Arabia and the Japan Pavilion from the closest bus stations after police blocked off a section of Shibo Avenue in the Park because of the protesting fans.