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Main >> News Listing >> July 2003 >> Article ID 197
 Toronto 'SARSstock' Draws Massive Crowd for Stones | Type: Internet Article |
| | Toronto 'SARSstock' Draws Massive Crowd for Stones | Jul 30, 2003 | by Cameron French and Ka Yan Ng
Summary:
Along with the Stones, who interrupted the European leg of their "40 Licks" tour to perform in Toronto, other main acts will be Australian rockers AC/DC, former N'Sync member Justin Timberlake, and Canadian legends Rush and The Guess Who.
Speculation has built that surprise guests may also pop up, with names such as Paul McCartney and Christina Aguilera -- who is already in town as part of her tour with Timberlake -- being bandied about.
Read on for whole article |
 TORONTO (Reuters) - A disused military air base in Toronto became the temporary center of the rock 'n roll universe Wednesday, as a crowd expected to top 400,000 gathered to help the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and a dozen other acts lift the spirits of the SARS-hit Canadian city.
Excitement has hit a fever pitch in the month since the Rolling Stones agreed to headline the massive outdoor concert to "bring back the energy" to the only area outside Asia where people died from severe acute respiratory syndrome.
"Let's do this for Toronto. Let's do this for Canada. Let's show the people we know how to rock and roll with the best of them," Montreal rocker Sam Roberts bellowed before his early set in the festival some have dubbed SARSstock -- after the Woodstock Festival of 1969.
While the World Health Organization is no longer warning people to stay away from SARS hot spots -- a list that once included Toronto -- the outbreak of the flu-like illness and a death toll of 42 scared tourists and business travelers away from Toronto, forcing restaurants and hotels to lay off staff.
The giant concert aims at injecting new vigor into the tourism sector, as well as saying thank you to frontline health-care workers who battled the disease, sometimes paying with their lives.
With well over 400,000 tickets sold ahead of time, organizers have billed it as the largest ticketed concert in North American history.
And under clear and sunny skies, crowds rushed for good spots as the gates opened at 8:15 a.m. Many had spent the night camped outside, hoping for a close view of the legendary acts that will close off the show.
"I'm 49 years old and I haven't been to a concert since I was 21," said Alex Swift, who came in from Niagara Falls, Ontario. "I'm going to surf the crowd with my camera."
In anticipation of the massive turnout, the city expanded bus service and provided 70,000 parking spaces to augment a subway system that can handle only 50,000 travelers an hour.
"I hope nothing happens in the crowd. I just want my kids to be safe," said Joan Deltin, from north of Toronto, as she corralled her three young children and niece.
By early afternoon, local news was reporting nine injuries, three of them serious. One person was reportedly arrested for assaulting a police officer.
The big test will come when the show lets out sometime before midnight and the crowd heads home through north Toronto neighborhoods.
Organizers have said they will not rush people away when the show ends, hoping the crowd will take the lead of the estimated 800,000 who peacefully crammed the site last year for a visit by Pope John Paul II.
Along with the Stones, who interrupted the European leg of their "40 Licks" tour to perform in Toronto, other main acts will be Australian rockers AC/DC, former N'Sync member Justin Timberlake, and Canadian legends Rush and The Guess Who.
Speculation has built that surprise guests may also pop up, with names such as Paul McCartney and Christina Aguilera -- who is already in town as part of her tour with Timberlake -- being bandied about. |
 Source: Reuters | |
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