It has been 10 years since nine young men died during a concert at the Roskilde Festival
The 40th edition of the annual Roskilde Festival officially opened last night at 6pm – not with music, but with a memorial to the nine young men who were crushed to death at the event in 2000.
American punk legend Patti Smith was given the honour of holding the short pre-concert ceremony, and she chose to open the tribute with accompanying music from Mozart.
Her lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye, then read out the nine men’s names while Smith threw nine roses into the crowd.
The nine victims - three Danes, three Swedes, a German, an Australian and a Dutch man died when they were crushed during a Pearl Jam performance as the crowd rushed toward the stage.
