Memorial Service in Denmark

July 2 —, 2000 -- Rock fans filled a Danish Cathedral today to mourn the death of the eight men who were trampled to death at a weekend music festival.

The 50 minute service drew about 1,200 people, including dozens of youths, many wearing jeans and shoes covered with dry mud from the annual Roskilde festival.

The eight fans were trampled to death when thecrowd rushed the stage at a Pearl Jam show Friday night.

Many people at the service were sobbing and holding each otheras they sat in the pews.

Sara Wallin, a 20-year-old Danish student who was up frontduring the crush at the Pearl Jam concert, said she was shocked tolearn that people had died.

“It is scary to think that we didn’t realize what washappening,” Wallin said.

Extra Precautions at Festival

The memorial was an unexpected addition to the lineup of this annual rock festival, which continues on all seven stages including the main stage where Pearl Jam was playing.

Audiences tucked letters and flowers into the barbed wire on thebarrier in front of the stage in remembrance of those killed. Amakeshift memorial of flowers and candles off to the side of thearea, which was cordoned off for much of Saturday, had been fencedin.

Organizers say they’ve taken all possible security measures anddefended their decision not to end the event. A spokesman says “life is about sunshine, happiness and music.”

An investigation is underway to try and understand why the victims were trampled. According to a police spokesman an additional twenty five people were injured, four seriously.

Pearl Jam has cancelled the rest of their European tour which was scheduled to conclude July 3rd.

The Seattle rock band said they will never be the same, and issued a statement on their official Web site, saying “there are absolutely no words to express our anguish in regard to the parents and loved ones of these precious lives that were lost.”

Fans Slipped in Crowd

Fans apparently pushed toward the stage at the annual Roskilde festival in an effort to hear the music after loudspeakers failed at the rear of the stadium. Officials say the people who were killed had slipped on rain soaked ground.

A Swedish paper reported that a fan said “the sound was failingfrom time to time,” giving that as the reason why many people pushedforward.

Pearl Jam asked the crowd to move back, and halted the performance when the crowd did not respond.

The crush occurred shortly before midnight, as the rock band playedon the main stage before a crowd of approximately 50,000.

The band was confused by the event, calling it “random and sickeningly quick.” Their published statement added, “When you agree to play at a festival of this size and reputation it is impossible to imagine such a heart-wrenching scenario.

Oasis, Pet Shop Boys Pull Out

The Cure was set to follow Pearl Jam on the main stage, but their performance was cancelled after the incident. The Danish media reported that when the deaths were announced over loudspeakers, some concert-goersbegan crying while others lit candles.

Performances at the six other stages continued through Friday night and resumed on the mainstage Saturday night. The Roskilde festival features 170 performers, including Lou Reed, Willie Nelson, and Iron Maiden.

Several bands, however, pulled out. Oasis and the Pet Shop Boys, scheduled on Saturday night’s program, issued statements saying they would not perform “out of respect for those who have died and their families.”

During one of Saturday’s concerts, a local bishop led fans in a moment of silence from the main stage where Pearl Jam had played only hours before.

Outpouring of Sympathy

“Everybody at the festival is deeply concerned and wish[es] toexpress their[sic] sympathy to the relatives,” festival spokesman LeifSkov said.

Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said in a televisedinterview that “it was a terrible and tragic accident. It is verydifficult to put words on the fact that so many young people havelost their lives in such sinister circumstances.”

Victims included a 23-year-old Dutch man, a 26-year-old German,a 22-year-old Swede and 17-year-old Dane. Police withheld otheridentification details pending notification of relatives.

Erik Olsen, 17, of Norway, said people climbed on top of eachother to get air. “The guy in front of me was so shocked he simplyscreamed. It was impossible to get anywhere,” he told theStockholm-based tabloid, Expressen.

Woodstock Inspired Festival

The Roskilde festival, first held in 1971, was inspired by the1969 Woodstock Festival in upstate New York. It is held annually ona farm in Roskilde, 25 miles west of Copenhagen.

Carsten Iversen, who has supervised concert security in recentyears, said Roskilde organizers are very conscientious when itcomes to safety.

They “always have said that they wanted it to be the safestfestival, and that is very visible,” Iversen said.

The incident leaves Pearl Jam with an eerie link to their self-proclaimed heroes, The Who, which suffered a similar incident in 1979. Eleven people were trampled to death at a concert by The Who in Cincinnati as they rushed for choice seats before the start of the event.

Pearl Jam is expected to begin the U.S. part of their current tour August 3rd in Virginia. The veteran rock act has released 7 studio albums since 1991, including their current release Binaural, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard album charts in May.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.