Ed Sheeran postponed his concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday (September 9) at the last minute, leaving thousands of fans waiting outside in the uncomfortable heat.
The British pop star took to social media around 5:30 PM PT to break the news to concertgoers, many of whom traveled from other cities to attend the show and lined up outside the venue.
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“I can’t believe I’m typing this, but we’ve encountered some challenges loading our Vegas show,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram. “It’s impossible to continue with the show. I’m very sorry. I know everyone has traveled for this and I wish I could change it. The performance has been postponed to Saturday, October 28 and all tickets purchased remain valid for that date. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry x.”
With temperatures soaring above 90 degrees, some fans required medical treatment for heat-related issues, the Clark County Fire Department reportedly told Las Vegas’ 8 News Now. One fan was even taken to a local hospital.
“We were just concerned about security and communication,” one ticket buyer told the station Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We were the ones who had to take people to the doctors and tell them it wasn’t happening, that was unacceptable.”
Crew members at Allegiant Stadium shared Las Vegas Review-Journal that 65,000 tickets were sold for Sheeran’s show, which would have made it the largest concert ever held at the facility. The singer-songwriter’s complex stage setup – with 360-degree video screens and multiple sound towers – ultimately led to ‘production problems’ that led to the postponement, the Review Journal reports.
Allegiant Stadium officially cited “technical issues” as the reason for postponing the show, a representative for the venue told TMZ. Despite the problems, Sheeran reportedly stayed behind for about an hour to sign autographs for fans entering the stadium.
On Sunday, Sheeran shared a screenshot of a news report and a personal update with his fans on Instagram. The pictured report stated that there was “a flooring issue” at the site, with the rubber tiles becoming loose. This apparently caused two tall towers to slip by a meter every night.
“A little more context on yesterday’s cancellation,” Sheeran wrote in his own words. “It was a safety issue and we really did our best to make the show happen, but I’m not going to risk the safety of my fans for anything. I’m really gutted, this was out of my control, but I do take full responsibility for anyone left out by the cancellation. Of course, refunds are available at the time of purchase, and there is a rescheduled show on October 28th. If people still want to come, I promise it will be special. Nothing will take away from the effort people put into getting to Vegas, and I’m sorry this wasn’t communicated sooner to the people waiting outside. We really thought the show would happen until the very last minute, but for security reasons that just couldn’t happen. Sorry again to all those affected, and hopefully see you in October x.”
Sheeran is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album, Autumn variations, which will be released on September 29 via his Gingerbread Man Records. The set arrives shortly after the North American leg of his Mathematics World Tour takes place on September 23 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Autumn variations is Sheeran’s second album this year Subtraction, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums in May. The album also launched at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart, with Sheeran’s biggest sales week since 2017.
Check out Sheeran’s posts about the Las Vegas postponement on Instagram below.
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