Radiohead stage collapse: One man dead in Downsview Park incident, concert cancelled

Niamh Scallan, Josh Tapper and Graham Slaughter Staff Reporters

The grassy venue inside Toronto‘s Downsview Park was a flurry of activity late Saturday afternoon. As staff went about their final preparations, a crush of Radiohead fans waited to flood the gates for the sold-out evening concert.

Inside the beer tent, Oana Damian, 23, and a handful of other workers had just sat down for a meeting with their employer around 4 p.m. when she heard a loud, crackling sound — like “fireworks” — coming from the stage area.

Damian turned around and watched in horror as the stage’s back scaffolding began to twist and snap, the white billowing canopy collapsing onto the stage where a work crew was preparing for the concert.

Radiohead stage collapse: One man dead in Downsview Park incident, concert cancelled