Ten years since the Colectiv tragedy: pain, injustice and a march of memory in Bucharest

Ten years after the fire at the Colectiv Club, Romania commemorates the 65 victims of the tragedy that forever changed public trust in the state. On October 30, 2025, thousands of people are expected at a march of remembrance in Bucharest, an event dedicated not only to the memory of the young lives lost but also to protesting against the corruption and incompetence that led to the disaster. On the night of October 30, 2015, the fire that broke out during the concert of the band Goodbye to Gravity was followed by chaotic interventions and a chain of administrative errors. Many injured individuals later died in hospitals, victims of unreported nosocomial infections.

The families of the missing, including doctor Ruxandra Geambașu, who lost her 18-year-old daughter, accuse the state of failing to deliver justice. After a decade of trials, retrials, and acquittals, the Colectiv case remains a symbol of a Romania where the guilty do not pay, and the memory of the victims continues to demand truth and accountability.