Birmingham Christmas lights: Council admits mistakes
The crowd at the Birmingham Christmas Lights Switch on
Mistakes were made in the planning of the Christmas lights switch-on which ended in a terrifying crush and left 60 people needing treatment, Birmingham City Council said.
Coun Martin Mullaney, the council's cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said his department should have erected a TV screen to allow thousands of people locked out of Millennium Point to see Saturday’s show.
The star-studded event was abandoned after just one act when thousands of angry fans tore down security fencing and flooded in to the huge crowd.
The stampede saw dozens trampled or crushed against barriers before the show was called off.
Boyband JLS had just finished their performance when it was decided to cancel the concert, which had been set to last for more than five hours.
“Lessons will be learned from this,” said Coun Mullaney.
“It’s embarrassing when you have to cancel any event but I would much rather take the flak from a cancellation than from a single death.
“In hindsight, we maybe should have erected some big screens so that people outside the arena could have watched it.
“What we couldn’t have anticipated was hundreds of people turning up and pulling those fences down like they did.
“I am happy that my officers acted very quickly and properly to avert what could have been a much more serious incident.
“We were 10 minutes away from a Hillsborough situation.”
Coun Mullaney said the possibility of a “crowd surge” had been factored in to the planning of the event and it was decided to keep Curzon Street empty to allow police to evacuate the fans.
The councillor blamed high winds for causing steel security fences to topple on Friday night.
They were replaced by less secure mesh railings which were unable to hold the mob back.
Police and private security staff were overpowered in the face of the huge crowd as it steamed towards the stage but Coun Mullaney said he was satisfied that enough officers had been placed on duty for the event.
He also dismissed criticism from disappointed families who attended the event and said it ought to have been held in a larger arena or controlled by tickets.
“Even if we had issued free tickets, it would not have stopped those people who were seemingly hell bent on getting inside,” he said.
“Millennium Point was the only suitable venue which is big enough for this type of event.
“We were advised by the police on the numbers of officers and security staff and I am happy that there were enough there.”
“We want to continue organising this type of thing but the safety of young people will always be the most important thing.”
