An issue with a video board at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena prompted a last-minute postponement of Toronto rapper Drake’s concert on Monday night.
In a statement, Canucks Sports and Entertainment (CSE) — which manages the 19,000-seat arena in downtown Vancouver — said that “unforeseen circumstances” with the newly-installed piece of equipment meant the concert was pushed to Wednesday instead.
Drake was set to perform two shows in the city as part of his It’s All A Blur tour of North America, originally scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
<a href=”https://t.co/2AYufBbOgI”>pic.twitter.com/2AYufBbOgI</a>
—@RogersArena
The show scheduled for Tuesday will still go ahead, according to CSE. Anyone who had a ticket to the Monday show will be able to go on Wednesday.
“Drake was ready and excited to perform. He is looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday and Wednesday,” read a CSE statement. “Rogers Arena apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The show at Rogers Arena was postponed just two hours before the Toronto rapper was set to hit the stage on Monday.
The cancellation came as a shock to many concert-goers, thousands of whom found out while they were queuing up outside Rogers Arena. It came only two hours before the show was set to go ahead at 8 p.m. PT on Monday.
“I’m heartbroken. I’ve been waiting all day,” said Burnaby resident Brooke Graham, who had been waiting since 6:30 a.m. to get a wristband and see one of her favourite artists up close.
Graham, 26, only found out about the postponement — after she was inside the arena — from a fellow fan who saw the announcement on Instagram.
While Graham will be able to catch the postponed show on Wednesday, others like Calgary resident Darth Hundal are out of luck.
WATCH | BC Today discusses the growing trend of people travelling for concerts:
Drake fans who travelled from far and wide were disappointed Monday night after the rapper postponed his Vancouver show until later in the week. Many were left scrambling to trade tickets for Tuesday’s show or accept a refund. Entertainment writer Sydney Brasil joined BC Today’s Michelle Elliot to discuss the growing trend of people travelling long distances to see their favourite artists.
“I booked my Airbnb, like months out before this happened,” he said. “I guess I just gotta get a refund and just like head home … I’m just speechless.”
Tamara Murray, a nurse who works in northern Saskatchewan, spent nearly $4,000 to fly her and her two children to Vancouver for the Monday show.
After the last-minute postponement, Murray says her two children — one of whom was celebrating their 15th birthday — were heartbroken.
“They’ve been following him. That was their dream. And then we never went anywhere all summer,” she told CBC News.
“I got them here. We were at the door waiting to go in, and then the security guard [came] out and they were crushed.”
CBC News has reached out to CSE to find out what the issue was with the video board, and whether fans can expect to be compensated.
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