On December 3rd in music history, one significant event took place in 1979 when 11 people were tragically killed in a stampede at a The Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The band was set to perform as part of their North American tour promoting their album "Who Are You." The concert was general admission, meaning that seating was on a first-come, first-served basis. Approximately 18,500 tickets were sold for the event, but only a handful of doors were initially opened, causing a bottleneck effect.
When the doors opened at around 7:05 PM, thousands of eager fans rushed to enter the arena, leading to a massive crush. The force of the crowd was so intense that people were knocked down, trampled, and pushed against the doors. Some fans were even lifted off their feet and passed overhead by the crowd, a phenomenon known as "human surfing."
The band members were not aware of the situation unfolding outside, and they took to the stage as scheduled. It wasn't until after their performance that they were informed about the tragedy.
The incident led to major changes in concert security and crowd control measures. Many venues switched to assigned seating or implemented better crowd management techniques to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
The event remains one of the deadliest concert disasters in United States history and serves as a grim reminder of the importance of proper event planning and crowd safety measures.
