Belvidere Apollo Theatre collapse

Belvidere Apollo Theatre collapse

Concertgoers and on-site security responding to the collapse
Date	March 31, 2023
Time	7:43 p.m. CDT (UTC–5)
Venue	Apollo Theatre
Location	Belvidere, Illinois, US
Type	Structural failure
Cause	Tornado
Deaths	1
Non-fatal injuries	48[a]

On the evening of March 31, 2023, a tornado struck the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, which caused the ceiling of the theater to suffer a critical structural failure and collapse onto a sold-out concert. The show, headlined by the death metal band Morbid Angel, began despite advance knowledge of expected and imminent severe weather. After a half-hour storm break was instituted during the opening performance of the band Crypta, the tornado struck the theater. Winds of 90–100 miles per hour (140–160 km/h) caused the failure of the lower roof structure, with large amounts of debris falling into the venue, primarily onto concertgoers. Multiple people were buried by debris caused by the collapse. Concertgoers aided in removing debris from on top of others, before the arrival of the Belvidere Fire Department, who evacuated the building and handled search and rescue operations alongside emergency management agencies from three neighboring counties. One concertgoer was pronounced dead at the scene and 27 were taken to hospitals by ambulance, out of 48 that suffered non-fatal injuries.

The venue had been selected for the concert in November of the previous year, following the theater's remodeling as a concert venue. Severe weather was expected on the evening of March 31 in what would become a historic tornado outbreak, but multiple people remained in the stage area after warnings for imminent severe weather were received. Following the collapse, the lack of safety protocols despite warning became the subject of multiple lawsuits. The Apollo Theatre was condemned the next day, suffering major damage to not only the roof over the stage but also the street-facing facade and the upper roof structure, of which the latter two were found on the street after the tornado. The venue reopened that September after multiple months of remodeling efforts and a brief fire on the reconstructed roof.

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