Stadium rockers

Imagine you are waiting in a stadium to see your favourite band. You’ve sat through the support act and the crowd begins to buzz as the stage lights come up on your musical heroes.

As the first notes blast out from the stage, thousands of people jump to their feet and begin dancing to the music. For a moment you feel dizzy and then you realise that it’s not your balance that’s off kilter. The stand beneath your feet is starting to move. All around you people start to notice the same thing and everyone has the same thought: ‘What if this thing collapses? I’m getting out of here…’

In this situation it’s likely to be panic, rather than the threat of imminent collapse, that poses the greatest danger to life and limb. That’s why Dr Paul Reynolds and his colleagues in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield are looking at ways to model and thereby minimise the vibration response of packed stadia.