Elton John had to pull the pin on his concert less than half an hour before taking the stage in Auckland on Friday night as severe flooding lashes the city.
The 75-year-old British singer was due to perform at Mt Smart Stadium as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour, with up to 38,000 concert goers flocking to the venue to watch him perform despite the torrential weather.
Stuff NZ reports a spokesperson came onstage to inform the revellers it was “far too dangerous” for the show to go ahead, which was reportedly met with screams from the crowd.
Shortly afterwards, a statement was released on behalf of concert organisers, saying: “Due to unsafe weather conditions, tonight’s Elton John concert for Friday 27 January will not be proceeding.
“The team is assessing things and will keep everyone across with further updates here. Thank you for your understanding.”
John also took to his Instagram stories to say he was “absolutely heartbroken” that the show had been pulled.
“I was at the venue and determined to play as the weather reports we received in advance weren’t fully conclusive,” the Crocodile Rock singer wrote.
“Ultimately, we had to follow the local emergency services’ decision to cancel. The safety of my fans, our team, and staff at Mt Smart Stadium is of the utmost importance.
“My heart goes out to those of you who made it into the stadium only to have to leave again and I truly share your frustration and disappointment. I never want to let my fans down and deeply love it each and every time I have the honour of playing for you in New Zealand.”
While fans understood safety came first, many were frustrated it took organisers until the last-minute to cancel, with people left stranded at the venue in wild weather as a state of emergency was declared.
Auckland Transport’s Facebook account, the official road safety page for the city, had earlier advised concertgoers to drive instead of getting public transport due to works being carried out on KiwiRail’s Rail Network.
Stuff reported revellers had spent hundreds of dollars on transport to get to the venue, while Ubers were cancelling on people trying to get home as the surrounding streets were gridlocked in flash flooding.
Concertgoer Susannah Shackel told the website she had travelled from Wellington to attend the concert, adding it was “appalling” that it was pulled at the last minute.
“We spent $140 on Uber. Poor people were getting swept away at Mt Smart … We get to the gate and they tell us it’s cancelled and to go home,” she said.
“For the organisers to drag it on, they knew what the weather was like, is appalling. I’m in the Uber now, we’ve driven through floods getting home.
“I don’t care about the money. The danger that they’ve put people in is pretty bad form.”
Others took to Twitter with photos as they attempted to drive through the flooded streets:
John is scheduled to perform at Mt Smart tonight, Saturday January 28, but as of 8am this morning sales for the concert were suspended. Organisers have not disclosed whether or not the show will go ahead at this stage.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared after almost an entire summer’s worth of rain hit Auckland in just hours. More heavy rain is falling in Auckland this morning.
Two deaths have been confirmed and two people are unaccounted for, police said this morning.
“Clearly this is quite unprecedented,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkin said.
The city’s international airport was closed after it was overrun with water leading to the terminal to be deluged. Around 2000 stranded passengers had to be evacuated.