A Virgin HST passes through
Dawlish. The H.S.T. units were very popular on long haul routes and were in generally better repair than other former B.R.
rolling stock.
A
Class 87 electric locomotive and
Mark 3 coaches. They were known for there poor state of repair when
'one', then
National Express East Anglia bought them of off Virgin in the mid 2000's.
A Virgin trains Mk2 coach at Banbury in 2000. All
slam door stock was phased out by Virgin in 2003, due to passenger safety concerns relating to such rolling stock.
The interior of a Virgin owned 'BREL Express' in
2000. The unit that run an experimental between shuttle service
Birmingham New Street and
Reading, via
Coventry,
Leamington Spa,
Banbury and
Oxford between 2000 and 2001. It was nicknamed "Tatty-Curtains" due to the poor state of interior fittings.
A Virgin Trains Class 158 'BREL Express' on 'Route- VT 0'
D.M.U.. It was pictured in Swindon station during 2000. The Swindon- Cheltenham service was ended in 2002. Many of these sets had become badly rundown on this route.
A much welcomed Class 220 Voyager at Bristol. The Voyager class proved to be very popular with passengers.
A picture of a green preserved and a blue and white BR regional railways Mk1 carnage's in
Crewe during 2000.
Virgin Trains were one of the first to scrap them in the
1990's, while
Arriva Trains Wales still use 5 help fill in for broken stock on North Coast services.
A
Class 87 electric locomotive and
Mark 3 coaches. They were known for there poor state of repair when
'one', then
National Express East Anglia bought them of off Virgin in the mid 2000's.
A Virgin trains Mk2 coach at Banbury in 2000. All
slam door stock was phased out by Virgin in 2003, due to passenger safety concerns relating to such rolling stock.
A Virgin Voyager
Class 220 or
Class 221DEMU is at platform 9 of Bristol Temple Meads station with a northbound Cross-Country service. CrossCountry have greatly improved there train maintenance on the ex-Virgin ‘Brel Exspresses‘.
A Virgin Trains 'Virgin Voyager' train at
Banbury station in the year
2004. A Virgin Trains 'Virgin Voyager' train at Banbury station in the year
2004. They are still one of the most respected and publicly acclaimed trains in the UK.
Japanese teenagers on the
Harajuku Bridge "Flat Bill Hats" became very popular towards the mid to late 2000's, mainly due to the rising hip hop culture.
In late 2008, especially in Italy, the denim
waistcoat was a popular feminine fashion accessory.
Slim-fit tweed jackets have gained in popularity since early 2008.
Vintage printed tees worn across Indie, Scene and Nu-Rave fans.
Brazil’s TV celeb
Amanda Françozo in a still fasionable short skirt, during 2004
Nikki Cox in a long sleeved T-shirt in the year 2000. They were fashionable from the late 1990’s to the mid 2000’s. They nealy aways shrink badly in the wash.
A girl in still popular 1990's style leggings in 2009.
Dancing at
Snoqualmie Moondance festival in 1992. The woman on the right wares a form of
Gypsy top and a long,
floral skirt. The skirt would become more popular with younger women and teens in the late 1990’s and early 2000's. The top would become popular from about 1999 to 2001 with teens and older girls.
A member training in Seattle Mist Lingerie Football in typical late 2000’s woman’s sports kit
The black trousers and blue tunic top’s sleeves are both cropped. They are
Norwegian women, but cropped cloths are a now a growing western phenomena. Prehaps there clothes shrunk in the was to.
A woman wearing a
shrug. They were popular in the mid 1980‘s and after 2009.
A typical 2010 style vest top/sleeveless t-shirt.
Modern leggings came into fashion in the late 2000s
Japanese teenagers on the
Harajuku Bridge "Flat Bill Hats" became very popular towards the mid to late 2000's, mainly due to the rising hip hop culture.
Slim-fit tweed jackets have gained in popularity since early 2008.
Japanese teenagers on the
Harajuku Bridge "Flat Bill Hats" became very popular towards the mid to late 2000's, mainly due to the rising hip hop culture.
Slim-fit tweed jackets have gained in popularity since early 2008.
Singer
Hope Sandoval in 1992 wearing boots and patterned tights.
The German
Electro rock duo
Das Ich, 1993. Their aspect shows the influence of the
Goth look which returned in the 1990s.
Young woman in
New York City, 1995 with her belly button exposed.
Heavy shoes with thick heels, such as this shoe seen in the photo, were worn from the mid-1990s until the end of the decade.
In
Europe long, floor-length dresses were popular for day and evening wear. They were usually made of
Lycra or other stretchy fabric. This photo was taken in 1997.
Nikki Cox in a long sleeved T-shirt in the year 2000. They were fashionable from the late 1990’s to the mid 2000’s.
Dancing at
Snoqualmie Moondance festival in 1992. The woman on the right wares a form of
Gypsy top and a long,
floral skirt. The skirt would become more popular with younger women and teens in the late 1990’s and early 2000's. The top would become popular from about 1999 to 2001 with teens and older girls.
The 2009 Birmingham Millennium Point stampede occurred on 14 November 2009 when hundreds of people broke through a temporary metal barrier causing various injuries to fans during the Birmingham Christmas Lights Switch-On held outside
Millennium Point in
Birmingham,[1] while
JLS were performing.
Council preparation
Because a free
pop music concert and
fireworks show was planned, sections of
Millennium Point were fenced off and either marshals and/or police stationed at a few points so as to prevent any minor crimes, like
pickpocketing. Trouble breaking out may have been contributed by party goers becoming over excited, plus the unofficial presence of
alcohol.[2][3][4][5][6] Councilor
Steve Hollingworth from
Birmingham City Council said the event had been properly organised and prepared.[7]
Birmingham City Councillor
Martin Mullaney later stated it was a failure of the fencing at Millennium Point which was the main problem, since the wind broke the solid-
steel fencing down during the night and it was then replaced, with the
hessian fencing used on building sites and extra security personnel.[2][3][4][5][6][8][9]
According to reports, about 20,000 to 21,000 (officially) or 27,000 people (police estimates) turned up for the show at Millennium Point, which had been expected to attract just 5,000 fans.[3][4][8][11][12][15][16][17][18]
The 'JLS effect'
In December 2008 during a concert in
Croydon, about 2,000 fans turned up; not the planned 1,500. Five people were slightly injured at the event and 30 people were briefly detained for medical checks relating to the crushing that had taken place earlier. A teenage girl had an
asthma attack followed by a
panic attack and mild
heart tremor in the wake of it, and a man was taken back to his home in West Wickham Street after choking on a drink during the concert. The teenager told the
Croydon Guardian she was helped from the crowd after suffering both an asthma and panic attack due to the
chaotic situation. The woman had been queuing since 1:00 pm and had noted that when the school kids turned up it became really busy and then the kids started pushing their way in, squashing those at the front of the queues. She also recalled that a
pregnant woman was in the crowd and neither of them could move or get out. The
Metropolitan Police said about 2 dozen officers were called to the bash at
Fairfield Halls,
Croydon, at 4:00 pm (GMT) after being alerted to a crushing incident at a local free music event and that the 15 marshals had lost control of the situation.[2][13][14][14][16][17][18][19][19][20][20][20][21][21][22]
A similar event, in
Hull, shortly afterwards attracted 3,000 people, but no one was hurt that time. A fairly popular gig in
Manchester had also passed over peacefully. About 6,000 people attended the recent JLS appearance in Manchester‘s,
Trafford Centre, but authorities had planned for considerably more.[7][14][18][23]
Crowds began to swell at about 1:30 pm in Jennens Lane as a crowd of about 20,000 to 21,000 began to push at the inadequate fencing. At the end of the JLS performance, an additional 7,000, approximately, forced themselves in to the area before the
Sugababes could start their act and the police were overwhelmed.[3][4][8][9][11][14][15][16][17][18]
Some of the fans apparently became angry with the way the concert was being marshaled and began to throw umbrellas, drinks bottles and cans at the police and marshalls.[14][22]
The rest of the concert and lights switch-on were immediately cancelled as paramedics set up a special triage area to treat the wounded. Birmingham City Council stated: "due to safety concerns an emergency meeting was held and a joint decision was made between Birmingham City Council, BRMB, Millennium Point and the Emergency Services to cancel the event following JLS’s fantastic performance."[3][4][8][9][11][14][15][16][17][18]
Casualties
Some 64 concert-goers were injured: four critically, two of whom had major crush injures. Two persons were crushed under a metal barrier as it collapsed in the stampede and another two were knocked to the ground by the initial surge according to
West Midlands Police.
West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed there had been no fatalities at the crush.
Calvin Harris expressed his concerns over the lack of provision for the growing crowds.[3][15]
The aftermath
The Government's Culture Minister and the city council's Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport & Culture, Councillor Martin Mullaney blamed the near tragedy on bad weather and a failure of the fencing for the incident, but local MP for
Perry Barr,
Khalid Mahmood blamed the city council's lack of preparations prior to the event. A government enquiry has been launched in to what had happened at the event.[24][25] Councilor Steve Hollingworth from Birmingham City Council said the event had been properly organised and prepared.[7]
All parties agreed that the late surge of fans from outside of the main event was poorly handled and that the council could have erected big plasma
TV screens outside the event for those unable to get in.[3][15]
An official, independent report by a Health and Safety consultant, placed the final blame on Birmingham City Council's choice of fencing. The usual solid fencing used was deemed to be unsafe in the high winds, so was replaced by see-through fencing that same morning. Despite this, the report concluded that pre-planning for the event was "satisfactory". It was believed that members of the public could see spaces in the crows appearing through the see-through fence and decided to climb over, resulting in the fence collapsing, causing the subsequent surge and injuries.[26]
Related insodents
A similar event happened at the
Love Parade concert in
Duisburg in North Rhine-Westphalia on July 25th, 2010, in which 19 died and 340 were injured[27][28][29].