Load-out is the least visible and most mechanically demanding phase of large-scale touring. When a show ends, a venue's service corridors and vehicle tunnels become the route for moving staging, lighting, and sound hardware onto transport, often in a compressed overnight window. Forklifts run in tight spaces while crew workers coordinate the breakdown. The operational tempo is high and the tolerance for equipment error is small. That combination produced a serious incident Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, where a forklift lost control during the stage teardown following Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour concert and struck several workers, sending six people to local hospitals.
The Detroit Fire Department responded to what it classified as a "forklift injury accident" at the stadium around 11 p.m. Several workers told Click On Detroit they were heading to a break during their shift when the equipment lost control near a vehicle tunnel used in the teardown. Of the six transported to a local hospital, two were in serious condition during transit and four were in stable condition. No injuries appeared life-threatening. One crew member was released Sunday after an overnight hospital stay.
A worker who was struck in the chest described the moment to Click On Detroit, saying he had "never experienced anything like that" and that it all "happened in a split second."
Ford Field's review
Ford Field confirmed that one of those injured was a stadium employee. The venue told Click On Detroit it has begun a full review and is cooperating with relevant authorities and the event's production partners. "Out of respect for the people involved and the integrity of that review, we will not speculate on the cause," the stadium said, adding that it was grateful to the Detroit Fire Department and EMS for their rapid response. Representatives for Ford Field and for Sheeran did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Loop Tour schedule
The Detroit date was part of Sheeran's Loop Tour, a 57-concert run launched in January in support of his eighth studio album, "Play." The tour resumes September 4 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and is scheduled to end in December with a two-night stand in Mexico City.