Madonna concert may cause stadium collapse, says top architect

Sep 5, 2006, 14:40 GMT

Moscow - Powerful reverberations during Madonna's upcoming concert in Moscow could bring down the roof of the Luzhniki stadium venue, a local architect whose buildings suffered two horrific collapses said Tuesday.

Just as soldiers marching in unison can cause bridges to fall, music played at a certain frequency could spell disaster for the 84,000-seat stadium where the singer will perform on September 12, Nodar Kancheli told Ekho Moskvy radio.

Built in 1956 and partially roofed for the 1980 Summer Olympics, the stadium was recently chosen for the sell-out concert after days of wrangling between promoters, police and municipal authorities.

Madonna was originally due to appear in front of Moscow State University but the site was deemed inappropriate because of security considerations.

Kancheli, who designed dozens of major buildings in the capital and in Russia, the former Yugoslavia and Germany is no stranger to tragedy connected to his work.

On February 23, 57 people died when the roof fell in at Moscow's Yasenovo market because of heavy snow and overloading of floors.

On February 14, 2004, the roof of the city's Transvaal water park caved in under the weight of snow, killing 28.

Prosecutors on Monday dropped negligence charges against the 68- year-old architect in view of his age. Kancheli maintains his innocence in the incidents.

Meanwhile, the Madonna concert preparations have been plagued by problems, including reported threats by the Russian mafia to kidnap the star and her children, and protests by religious leaders over crucifixion imagery in the stage show of her Confessions tour.