Terrorist Attacks against Concerts and Festivals: A Review of 146 Incidents in the Global Terrorism Database

Abstract

Background: Mass gatherings are vulnerable to terrorist attacks and are considered soft targets with potential to inflict high numbers of casualties. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize all documented terrorist attacks targeted at concerts and festivals reported to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) over a 50-year period. Methods: The GTD was searched for all terrorist attacks against concerts and festivals that occurred world-wide from 1970 through 2019. Analyses were performed on temporal factors, location, target type, attack and weapon type, attacker type, and number of casualties or hostages. Ambiguous incidents were excluded if there was doubt about whether they were exclusively acts of terrorism. Chi-square tests were performed to evaluate trends over time and differences in attack types. Results: In total, 146 terrorist attacks were identified. In addition to musical concerts, festivals included religious, cultural, community, and food festivals. With 53 incidents, South Asia was the most heavily hit region of the world, followed by the Middle East & North Africa with 25 attacks. Bombings and explosions were the most common attack types. The attacks targeted attendees, pilgrims, politicians, or police/military members who secured the concerts and festivals. Conclusion: This analysis of the GTD, which identified terrorist attacks aimed at concerts and festivals over a 50-year period, demonstrates that the threat is significant, and not only in world regions where terrorism is more prevalent or local conflicts are going on. The findings of this study may help to create or enhance contingency plans.

Risk Management in Mass Gatherings

“…Another aspect to consider in this area is preventing the presence of street vendors in large gatherings because dealing with the distribution of food items by vendors can be very challenging. Additionally, the presence of street vendors in mass gatherings increases the possibility of terrorist and bioterrorist attacks [17,18].…”

“…These attacks have been carried out with various weapons in various music, sports, religious, and political festivals. These attacks in mass gatherings have killed hundreds of people and injured thousands of others [17].…”

January 2024

“…According to the Global Terrorism Database 2 , nearly 150 terrorist attacks have been identified against concerts, festivals and mass gatherings between 1970 and 2019. 3 The potential risk is acknowledged in Australia's counter-terrorism strategy 2022. 4…”

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