14 DAY TRIAL // Not long ago, People magazine was saying of pop sensation Justin Bieber that he was the greatest thing to happen to the industry since The Beatles, at least, so far, in terms of appeal to the audiences. Coming to prove that, indeed, his presence can make teenage girls lose their cool, not to mention flock in thousands, a 3-song concert he was supposed to give in Australia, at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Sydney’s Circular Quay, was canceled, ABC News informs.
The concert was supposed to be more of a surprise gig consisting of three songs from the Canadian pop star. As such, few expected this to get so out of hand, when over 3,500 teenagers started camping in front of the venue on Sunday – the performance was supposed to take place early on Monday morning. Word that Bieber had arrived earlier at the venue sent the fans into hysteria, which, in turn, forced authorities to cancel the show over safety concerns.
“The 16-year-old Canadian superstar was supposed to stage a free show in front of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Sydney’s Circular Quay this morning. Groups of mostly teenage girls started gathering at the venue early on Sunday. By 3am the crowd had surged to almost 3,500. Whispers Bieber had arrived early caused chaos. Eight people had to be taken to hospital after being crushed in the frenzied crowd. Dozens of others were treated at the scene for hyperventilation,” ABC News informs.
Authorities believe parents are mostly responsible for the chaos that ensued, as not only they had allowed their children to attend the concert unsupervised, but they also seemed not to care that they were out for the entire night. Consequently, girls aged between 11 and 15 were crushed against the barrier when the crowd became agitated, and police believe all this could have been prevented if parents had shown themselves to be a little more responsible.
“They broke down the barriers that we had put in place and they rushed towards the stage. There were a number of parents down there (but) I would question why there weren’t a larger number of parents. We had 12, 13 and 14-year olds (alone) at 3 and 4am in the morning. They were being crushed up against the barrier. We wanted them to get back. We asked numerous times. They wouldn’t abide by our directions. They left us with no option,” Deputy Commissioner Dave Owens says for ABC as to why they decided to cancel the performance altogether.