Gothenburg nightclub fire

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The Gothenburg nightclub fire was a fire disaster, which occured on October 28, 1998 in a private dance-hall in Gothenburg, Sweden. Sixty-three people died in the fire and one hundred were injured. The dance-hall had been rented by the Macedonian community for high-school students to celebrate Halloween.

The fire was set by a group of 18 to 19-year olds as a revenge for them being thrown out of the establishment after having been involved in fighting. The fire was set in the emergency exit stairway using furniture stored there, leaving only the main stairway free. Although the facility was licensed to hold 150 persons, the investigations after the fire estimated 400 people. The leaders of the group were convicted and received eight years imprisonment, a harsh punishment for juveniles by Swedish standards.