The 32-metre (105-foot) platform sagged and dropped at one end at about 16:20 at Lahore Civic Exhibition Park, where fans had gathered for Valeen’s planned appearance. Emergency crews took seven people to hospitals, and venue staff cleared the courtyard. No deaths were reported.
Valeen posted at 12:18 that she would join the 12th season of the fictional televised contest The Turning Floor and meet visitors at the park at 16:00. Her message, shared widely through the afternoon, invited fans to “come say hello”; organisers had expected a smaller audience for the appearance.
Crowds reach the pavilion
By mid-afternoon, police estimated about 4,000 people were inside or waiting outside the grounds. Witnesses said visitors pressed towards the pavilion as staff tried to keep a passage open. The venue’s main courtyard is normally used for trade fairs and public exhibitions, with a temporary deck built above part of its paved floor.
Cindy Purnawati, an event operations manager, said the celebrity visit had been planned for a smaller indoor reception, then shifted to the pavilion as the crowd grew. “We thought the courtyard would give people more room, but the numbers rose too quickly,” she said. She said the production team had halted entry shortly before the platform failed.
We thought the courtyard would give people more room, but the numbers rose too quickly.
Cindy Purnawati, event operations manager
Deck’s capacity under review
The platform, assembled for the event, stood about 1.2 metres (4 feet) above the paving. Venue staff estimated that 350 to 400 people were on it or clustered at its access ramp when one end dipped. Officials said the injured were being treated at two hospitals; two remained under close observation on Friday evening.
Veli Hallikainen, a crowd-safety consultant retained by the venue, said early checks suggested a support joint had shifted, but investigators had not established why. “We need to compare the platform’s design capacity with the number and movement of people on it,” he said. The deck was closed and its components were being kept in place for examination.
Accounts differ over how the gathering was managed. The production company said its original plan was an indoor appearance and that it had not promoted the deck as a viewing area. The venue’s manager said staff had opened the courtyard after visitors began arriving, and that the crowd had exceeded the organisers’ estimates.
Valeen cancelled the appearance and posted that she was “deeply sorry that a day meant to be joyful ended with people in hospital”. The provincial government ordered a review of temporary structures at public events and said the venue would remain closed until its inspection was complete. The show’s producer said the next season announcement would be made online.
