Fans who forked out up to £26,000 to see Adele on stage for her Las Vegas residency are devastated after the singer announced she had to postpone forthcoming dates.
Adele, 33, was due to perform two concerts at the 4,300-seat Colosseum theatre each weekend from 21 January to 16 April, with plans to be joined by the likes of Celine Dion, Elton John, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Rod Stewart.
However, in a tearful Instagram video to fans, she admitted things weren’t quite ‘ready’ despite everyone’s best efforts, meaning the tour would have to be postponed.
Tickets for the residency ranged from £60 to £500, but some prices on resale websites were much higher – with sites like StubHub and Ticketmaster offering the chance to buy tickets for anywhere between $2,000 (£1,474) and $35,000 (£26,480).
Many of her fans are now furious at the last-minute change, with some saying they had booked time off or spent money on travel.
One tweeted: “When it’s your bday and your bday present was Adele tickets to her opening night and she cancels not even 24 hours before.
“[…] We are on an airplane right now headed to see her. Non refundable deposits. Vacation time spent. Babysitting secured. Unless her whole crew got COVID literally today this is unconscionable. We have up to 500 dollars in COVID tests we prepaid.”
They added: “Also for everyone saying ‘it’s COVID! This happens!; We are all out here working during COVID. I totally knew this could be canceled, but there is no way it should have been canceled this close to the show. Anything catastrophic enough to cancel would be apparent by Monday.”
Someone else asked: “Why announce it so last minute?”
A third wrote: “And this my friends, is why #adele is overrated. Says she doesn’t like touring, constantly cancelled shows. I’d be fuming if I had flown to Vegas.”
A fourth said they would feel ‘p***ed’ if they wasted precious time off and ‘money for a concert I’m not even going to get to go to’.
Others, meanwhile, could sympthatise with the singer’s predicament, with one saying: “For any of you complaining or p***ed about Adele having to cancel her show, F*** off and return your tickets! She is obviously destroyed by having to cancel and did everything to avoid it...hence the late notice! Have some grace!”
Another agreed: “I feel for #Adele end day it's out of her hands and all these people being nasty I understand there angry but come on covid can't be helped.”
In her Instagram update, Adele apologised to fans for having to postpone the highly anticipated residency, saying half of her team had been 'hit by Covid'.
She also promised that all dates would be rescheduled, saying: "We've been up against so much and it just ain't ready. I'm so sorry.
"We've tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you.
"But we've been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID.
"Half my team, half my crew are hit by COVID. They still are and it's been impossible to finish the show."
Adele said she felt 'upset and embarrassed' but that getting things turned around had simply been 'impossible'.
She added: "I'm gutted and I'm sorry it's so last minute."
Jess Hardiman