Candles, flowers and tears mark the 11th memorial year of the Colectiv tragedy, as victims are remembered outside the former club on Tabacarilor Street in Sector 4 of the Capital.

Several organisations have announced that they will gather in Bucur Square on Friday, the site of the tragedy 11 years ago, which claimed the lives of 65 young people.

'On the night of 30 October 2015, hundreds of people were inside the Colectiv club attending a concert by the band Goodbye to Gravity. They had come to listen to music, dance and spend an evening with friends. During the performance, fireworks set fire to the insulation material and the flames engulfed the ceiling within a matter of seconds. People tried to escape through the club's narrow exit. Some did not make it out alive. Others escaped with severe burns or were carried out by those who went back to help them. (...) For the families of those who died, these 11 years have meant birthdays without their loved ones and all the moments they will never be able to share again. Each of the 65 had a life that should have continued. The tragedy destroyed their futures and forever changed the lives of those who loved them. Survivors have faced surgery and rehabilitation, with lasting consequences they live with every day. The passage of time has not brought their suffering to an end. On 30 October, we gather once again in memory of the 65 victims and in solidarity with the survivors and their families. As we do every year, we will light candles and demand accountability for what happened to them. Eleven years have passed. Families should not have to spend their entire lives fighting to find out why their loved ones never came home. We have not forgotten Colectiv and we never will,' the event organisers, Coruptia Ucide, Rezistenta and Initiativa Romania, said in a Facebook post.

Declic is also paying tribute to the victims of the Colectiv tragedy. 'Tonight (30 October), from 6:00 pm, we will gather at 7 Tabacarilor Street. We will light candles for the 65 victims and demand accountability for what happened to them,' the organisation said on its Facebook page.

The Colectiv GTG 3010 Association posted a message on social media marking the 11th anniversary of the tragedy: 'Take care of yourselves, we still don't have hospitals this year either.'

'The Colectiv GTG 3010 Association is not organising any event at Colectiv on 30 October 2026. However, some of the parents who are still with us and are able to attend will be there, each as and when they can. As every year, friends of our children will also come to light a candle in their memory,' the association's representatives announced.

On Friday morning, a group of priests held a religious service outside the former club. People continue to arrive, light candles and observe moments of silence in front of the memorial altar built in memory of the 65 victims. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)