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| Crowd surge at lights switch-on | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Birmingham's Christmas lights switch-on has been cancelled after at least seven people were injured in a crowd surge. | Birmingham's Christmas lights switch-on has been cancelled after at least seven people were injured in a crowd surge. |
| Up to 5,000 people had been expected to turn out for the event at Millennium Point, which had been due to feature acts including JLS and the Sugababes. | |
| A city council spokesperson said more people than expected had turned out and they had feared for crowd safety. | A city council spokesperson said more people than expected had turned out and they had feared for crowd safety. |
| They said a combination of that, bad weather and concerns about safety fencing led them to cancel the event. | They said a combination of that, bad weather and concerns about safety fencing led them to cancel the event. |
| Reports suggested up to 27,000 people were at the site by the time band JLS started to perform. | |
| Area cleared | |
| A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were presently treating seven injured people and were expected to be at the site "for some time". | A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were presently treating seven injured people and were expected to be at the site "for some time". |
| The area around Millennium Point has now been cleared and emergency crews were urging people to stay away from the area. | The area around Millennium Point has now been cleared and emergency crews were urging people to stay away from the area. |
| Other acts that had been scheduled to appear as part of the five-hour event included Calvin Harris, Tinchy Stryder, Natalie Imbruglia, Chipmunk, Girls Can't Catch, Little Boots, The Saturdays, Alexandra Burke, The Noisettes, Taio Cruz and Pixie Lott. | |
| The night was due to finish with a fireworks display. |