- Title: INDONESIA: SECURITY AND POLICE FIGHT AFTER END OF WESTLIFE CONCERT IN JAKARATA
- Date: 24th May 2001
- Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (MAY 24, 20011) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)(PERFORMANCE CLEARANCE FOR RESALE) WIDE OF WESTLIFE SINGING ON STAGE MV , OF WESTLIFE SINGING WIDE OF GIRLS CHEERING VARIOUS OF BAND PERFORMING VARIOPIS, OF FANS IN AUDIENCE HOLDING UP WESTLIFE POSTER (2 SHOTS) WIDE OF BAND VARIOUS OF BAND PERFORMING VARIOUS, OF FANS IN AUDIENCE SINGING AND CLAPPING (2 SHOTS) WIDE O
- Embargoed: 8th June 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA4IOYKEPWSIDANDEEULZ67N25C
- Story Text: Irish boy band Westlife rocked Indonesia's capital Jakarta in front of 15,000 screaming teenage fans in an event marred by an all-in brawl between police and security personnel from the concert organisers.
Chart-topping Westlife performed in Jakarta on Thursday (May 24) to promote their latest album -- Coast to Coast.
The album has sold more than a million copies in Indonesia, making it the top selling record ever by an international pop group in the country.
The concert was held amid tight security around the sold out stadium following the death of four fans in a stampede when another boy band toured Jakarta in March.
Though it went smoothly, the concert was marred by fighting between police and security personnel supplied by the organisers not long after it finished, leaving a number injured.
Some teenagers still left in the stadium screamed in panic, although none were hurt in the melee.
The cause of the brawl was unclear. Punches were exchanged and some police used their baton sticks.
Despite concerns about safety, the concert itself went off largely without a hitch, although some 20 teenage girls needed medical treatment after fainting.
Organisers had said 2,000 security personnel including police guarded the stadium. Around 200 paramedics backed up by a number of ambulances and fire engines were also on standby for the late afternoon event that finished before dark.
Bands such as Westlife are hugely popular with Indonesian teenagers, but visits have become less common since the country sank into crisis in the late 1990s.
The British boy band A1 cut short a promotional tour in Asia after four young fans were crushed to death in a stampede at an autograph-signing in a Jakarta shopping mall last March.
Organisers had said Westlife would finish playing before nightfall to minimise the threat of fans getting out of control.
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