Elton John concert canceled in Auckland due to torrential rain
Elton John’s concert in Auckland was canceled minutes before the rocker was due to take the stage due to torrential rain lashing the city, and irate concertgoers are demanding a refund.
Elton John’s concert in Auckland was canceled on Friday after torrential rain lashed the New Zealand city.
Some 40,000 people were due to see the 75-year-old Rocket Man sing as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
But moments before it was due to start, the concert was cancelled, with promoters Frontier Touring tweeting: “Auckland, due to unsafe weather conditions, tonight’s Elton John concert for Friday 27th January will not take place.”
Elton John’s concert in Auckland was canceled on Friday after torrential rain lashed the New Zealand city. Elton is pictured
The team is evaluating things and will keep everyone posted with more updates here. Thanks for your understanding.’
Frontier Promotions and Elton John have not revealed if the concert will be rescheduled or if those who must attend will receive a refund.
Auckland Transport added that they were helping to reroute special event buses to help people get home.
Thousands of fans braved the wet weather only to be disappointed after arriving at Mt Smart Stadium.
It is unclear if Elton’s second concert in the city on Saturday will take place.
Nearly 40,000 people were due to see the 75-year-old Rocket Man sing as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Auckland Transport added that they were helping to reroute special event buses to help people get home. Thousands of fans braved the wet weather only to be disappointed after arriving at Mt Smart Stadium
‘Elton should have been canceled hours ago. Put a lot of people at risk with no transportation options other than the cars that are actually being washed down Mount Smart,” one fan said on Twitter.
You should have canceled hours ago when things started to go sour in Aux. What were you thinking?’ added another.
‘It should have been canceled earlier. We’ve traveled from Northland and can’t get home. We even contemplated not coming. We could say it was going to a weather bomb. Luckily we have friends to help us, but there will be hundreds of people from out of town trapped,” a concertgoer commented.
Emergency workers and a man walk through floodwaters in Auckland on Friday.
“This was evident well before 7:10 p.m., when people were already in their seats. Don’t assume you are planning to reimburse people for the cost of Ubers, babysitters, transportation that could have been avoided if you had announced this a few hours earlier! Terrible management,” added a fan.
“This is costing a lot of people accommodation that cannot be repaid. You really should have made this decision earlier, not when the water was up to people’s ankles,” said one.
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland following torrential rains with homes evacuated and the city’s airport flooded.
Both the domestic and international airports were closed due to flooding in Auckland.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown declared a state of emergency due to the extent of “damage, displacement and disruption” caused by the weather.
Both the domestic and international airports were closed due to flooding, and photos on social media showed the check-in area at the International Terminal in knee-deep water.
Videos on social media showed firefighters, police and defense force personnel rescuing stranded people from flooded homes using ropes and rescue boats. No details were immediately available on how many people had been evacuated so far.
Elton recently played his last shows in Australia. After finishing up in New Zealand, he will head to the UK to finish up the shows.
Main roads were also blocked by floodwaters, causing long queues of traffic on the highways.