Beyoncé Concert “Stampede” Injures 11–Will It Be An Astroworld Repeat?

Eleven individuals were reportedly injured leaving Beyoncé’s final Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta, Georgia.

Getty Images for The Recording Academy

A crowd surge following Beyoncé’s final Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta, Georgia, reportedly left 11 attendees injured while leaving the Mercedes-Benz Stadium via the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)’s Vine City stop.

According to MARTA officials, an individual screamed and ran in response to seeing an insect, which caused a stampede on the station’s escalator. This rapid movement resulted in the escalator briefly speeding up and slowing down, leading to the crowd toppling over each other.

“One person suffered a broken ankle, seven people were transported to the hospital with cuts and scrapes, and one person declined transport,” MARTA’s Senior Director of Communications, Stephany Fisher, told the media. “Two people requested medical assistance after reaching their destinations.”

The inspection certificate on the escalator, manufactured by the company Schindler, reportedly reads that its expiration date is next month. In response to the event, Schindler maintained that “At this time, we have no verified information as to the cause and it would be inappropriate to speculate.”

When stampede-like events occur in large crowds, particularly at a concert or live entertainment venue, there are several parties that could potentially be implicated. This includes the event organizers, the venue, and its security team, or even the performers themselves, depending on their response to the event. Most infamously, the tragic events at Travis Scott’s 2021 “Astroworld” concert, which led to 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries, are a prime example of this.

A few months after Astroworld and its fallout, an attendee at Harry Styles’ 2019 concert in Los Angeles sued the venue (the Forum), its former owner (Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp), LiveNation, StubHub, and Ticketmaster for general negligence after she says she was knocked to the ground and trampled during a crowd surge. In the suit, the fan argues that organizers “had a duty to but failed to provide sufficient seating, lighting, security, supervision, crowd control, or otherwise provide for the safety of concert goers [sic]

that night.”

Certainly, the Astroworld tragedy raised concerns and led to an increased awareness about crowd safety at concerts, potentially inspiring other seemingly retrospective suits like the one filed against the Forum two years after the alleged incident. However, fortunately for Beyoncé and her team, these events occurred outside of the concert itself. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that a victim of injuries from this incident would have any grounds for a lawsuit against the artist or the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On the other hand, Schindler – and perhaps the MARTA officials – could bear some responsibility for the injuries that occurred.

If an investigation finds that the escalator was not up to the proper standards despite not yet having reached its expiration date, Schindler could be sued for neglecting to adhere to safety protocol. Conversely, if any concert-goers allege that members of the MARTA police force did not appropriately attend to their needs or take action, they could potentially be held liable for negligence as well.

Regardless of their location, a lack of safety measures in place by organizers at public events can put crowds at risk across the board – whether they’re at the event or traveling to and from. It is crucial for venues and all related parties, including transportation services, to be aware of the crowds artists draw to their space and plan accordingly – all entities involved in live entertainment events have a responsibility to keep fans safe.

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