Madonna concert's stage collapses in France
Platform in Marseille falls, killing 1 worker and injuring 9
Last Updated: Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 2:46 PM ET
CBC News
Two giant lighted M's flank the stage of Madonna's Sticky and Sweet concert set, seen here at the Stade de France stadium near Paris in 2008. The elaborate stage design includes myriad lights, screens, moving platforms and, at one point, a vintage Rolls Royce. (Thibault Camus/Associated Press)A French city official says an upcoming Madonna concert in Marseille has been cancelled following a stage collapse on Thursday that killed a worker and injured nine others.
Fire department officials said a roof section of the stage fell on top of several workers at the Stade Velodrome stadium on Thursday. The complex and intricate set was being built in advance of the southern French city's stop on Madonna's ongoing Sticky and Sweet tour.
The cause of the collapse remains unclear.
Maurice Di Nocera, the Marseille city councillor in charge of major events, said workers had completed about two-thirds of a roof section before it gradually fell apart onto the builders.
"Since it did not collapse right away, that allowed several people to get out, to avoid being hit," he said on France-Info radio.
Di Nocera added that the concert — slated for Sunday — has been cancelled.
Authorities said two of the nine injured workers are in serious condition (an American and a British citizen), and all victims have been taken to area hospitals for treatment. The identities of the deceased, French worker and those injured have not been released.
Madonna has been on a record-breaking world tour promoting her latest album, Hard Candy, since last year. In February, her camp announced she would extend the tour by adding a host of new dates across Europe.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:40 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Quebec students to challenge Bill 78 in court
- A collective of student associations, unions and environmental groups is holding a news conference Friday morning to announce their plans to mount a legal challenge against Bill 78. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest

- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
- Elton John cancels Las Vegas concerts over illness
- Elton John is suffering from a serious respiratory infection and has cancelled three Las Vegas performances on doctors' orders. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
- Vancouver Bieber fans in disbelief over tour snub
- Justin Bieber announced yesterday morning the dates of his world tour in support his latest album Believe, but fans in Vancouver were disappointed to see that their city didn't make the list. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 11:49 AM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 11:35 AM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- New mom among dead in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- SpaceX capsule captured by Canadarm2
- Coffee prices get jolt in jittery economy
- Gatineau police to question man in multiple homicides


