Acrobat’s partner saw him fall

BRITAIN: An acrobat who plunged 30 metres to his death in front of a 35,000-strong crowd at a Spanish music festival was killed on the night that his partner had come to watch him perform live for the first time, it emerged yesterday.

Fans watched on in horror as Pedro Aunion Monroy, 42, fell to his death from a cube which had been hoisted above the stage as part of a tribute to pop star Prince at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid.

Just prior to his death Monroy had posted a drawing of himself and his partner, Michael Sells, on Facebook, with the message: ‘‘I can’t wait to see my beautiful boyfriend. Love, come to my arms!!!!!’’

Monroy, who lived and worked in Brighton, fell from the box shortly before midnight on Friday night (local time) as fans waited for Green Day to come on stage to headline the festival.

The US rockers were initially criticised for performing some 30 minutes after paramedics had removed Monroy, but later issued a statement saying they were unaware he had died until they came offstage.

His partner, Sells, also from Brighton, was in the audience watching him for the first time, according to friends.

One friend, Darren Howe, said: ‘‘Pedro was the nicest, most positive person you could wish to meet. This was the first time Mike had seen him perform. A lot of his friends are now travelling to Madrid to support Mike who was watching from the crowd and saw it all.’’

The Mad Cool Festival organisers said they were sorry for the accident but had decided to continue with the final act of the night ‘‘for security reasons’’. Many music fans expressed disgust with Mad Cool for not suspending the Green Day concert. - Sunday Telegraph