Beni Suef Cultural Palace fire

The Beni Suef Cultural Palace fire occurred in Beni Suef, Egypt, on September 5, 2005, and killed 46 people.

Beni Suef Cultural Palace fire

Date	5 September 2005
Location	Egypt
Deaths	46
Non-fatal injuries	0

The Cultural Palace was overcrowded at the occasion of the Amateur Theatre Festival when a burning candle lit paper scenery on the stage and started a conflagration. A stampede erupted towards a single exit. Fire extinguishing equipment was locked in a distant room, and fire engines and ambulances arrived late and unprepared^[1] People died both from burns and in the crowd crush.^[2]

In the aftermath the Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, resigned, a move that was later revoked by President Hosni Mubarak. In May 2006 eight cultural bureaucrats were convicted for negligence and received ten-year prison sentences.^[2]

The fire drastically affected the theatrical community of Egypt who had come to the Cultural Palace on that day for the festival. September 5 has been named the National Day of Theatre in remembrance.