Radiohead Cancels Toronto Concert After Stage Collapses

Radiohead was preparing to play their first concert in Toronto since 2008 tonight at Downsview Park, but the band has cancelled the show in the wake of a stage collapse at the venue today. According to The Globe and Mail, workers were erecting screens on the park stage when it collapsed, killing one person and injuring three. One of the injured was treated at a nearby hospital, while two were treated on scene.

The band's Twitter feed confirmed the cancellation but provided no other information, and the police are not releasing the names of the injured or dead, though there's no indication the band was near the stage at the time of the collapse. So far the incident appears to be far less deadly than the collapse that occurred at the Indiana State Fair last year, when strong winds knocked over a stage just before a performance from the country duo Sugarland. A class-action lawsuit was eventually filed against the band, who had final say on whether to cancel the performance due to inclement weather.

It might seem like a trend when a stage collapses before two high-profile performances within less than a year, but the cause of the Radiohead stage collapse seems completely different, and of course the fact that there was no audience yet present limited the possibility of injury. Surely there will be an investigation that will let us know the reason for the collapse and help avoid similar incidents in the future, and in the meantime, our condolences to the injured and the bereaved.

(Image via The Globe and Mail-- Alexandra Mihan/THE CANADIAN PRESS)