'Gutted': Ed Sheeran pulls gig over 'flooring issues'

Ed Sheeran has shared more details around the last-minute cancellation of his gig in the US, saying he’s “gutted” but is “not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything”.

The Shape Of You star let fans know the show was off shortly before his performance was due to start at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday.

His initial post on Instagram at around 2am UK time (6pm local time) had blamed “challenges encountered during the load in”.

Sharing more details with his 45 million Instagram followers on Sunday, Sheeran reposted a snippet of an article claiming there was a “flooring problem” in the venue.

It said that when the crew were bringing in their equipment ahead of the soundcheck, “rubber tiling had become unstuck – causing two tall towers to slip overnight by about a foot each”.

The article also reported that despite tearing down, re-building and reinforcing them, “both towers were still found to be shifting”, leading to the late cancellation of the show.

The piece also praised the singer and his team, saying: “Ed and his crew battled for 24 hours to salvage the show.”

Giving his own “context” on the cancellation, Sheeran wrote in his message alongside the extract: “It was a safety issue, and we really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything.

“I really am gutted, this was very much out of my control but I do take full responsibility for everyone that was put out from the cancellation.”

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He also apologised for the sudden nature of the cancellation, adding: “Nothing will take away from the effort people went to to get to Vegas though and I’m sorry it wasn’t communicated sooner to the people waiting outside.

“We really thought the show was going to happen up until the very last moment but it just couldn’t for safety reasons.”

The stadium in Nevada, which is the home NFL team Las Vegas Raiders, is a 65,000-seat venue.

Sheeran had been due to play alongside support acts, US rapper Russ and English singer-songwriter Maisie Peters.

The show has now been postponed until Saturday 28 October.

Sheeran has previously cancelled gigs in Hong Kong due to severe weather conditions in 2019 and in St Louis, Missouri, amid protests in 2017.

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His next scheduled gig is in Oakland, California, on Friday night.

Sheeran will be back on home turf, performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London over the weekend of 18 and 19 November, sharing tracks from his upcoming album Autumn Variations.

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