Abu Dhabi: Thousands of dance fans in the capital were left disappointed when one of the most anticipated concerts to hit Abu Dhabi was cancelled due to an electrical problem.
The concert was supposed to have opened at 10pm in the Abu Dhabi Hall of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).
Radio 2: John Lickorish from Flash - the company organising Tiesto concert - on Friday's cancellation
Audio supplied by 99.3 106 Radio 2
"Unfortunately, DJ Tiesto's stage suffered some electrical malfunctions, which are being investigated. As a result, we were forced to cancel the concert," a spokesperson from Adnec said.
Dutch House DJ Tiesto, who is known as one of the top DJs in the world, was due to perform in Adnec as part of his 14-month Kaleidoscope world tour.
Tiesto expressed his disappointment in his tweets.
"I am really disappointed that the gig tonight has been cancelled. I was looking forward to play in this sold out venue. I'll come back soon!"
In a press release issued late on Friday evening, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) said it informed FLASH that Abu Dhabi Hall (Hall 12) is unfit to stage Tiesto Live in Abu Dhabi due to a serious technical problem with the venue.
Adnec has not been able to remedy the problems with the venue. Consequently, the decision has had to be taken to cancel this evening's event.
Adnec's Mike Tracey, Venue Director said: "We are very sorry that this technical problem has occurred and lead to the cancellation of this event. We will be carrying out a thorough investigation into the causes of this problem to ensure it does not happen again."
FLASH's management is deeply saddened that this event cannot go ahead. FLASH MD John Lickrish comments: "This is desperately unfortunate as we know how many people were looking forward to this event. We will be doing everything we can to re-stage the event and further information will be available as soon as we have it. FLASH's utmost priority at all events is the safety of attendees and under no circumstances will we risk or compromise this. We're also of course focused on providing the best in entertainment to our consumers. Tiesto is here in Abu Dhabi and was ready to play and we're now working with him on potential new dates."
All ticket holders should contact their respective ticket outlets and they will have the opportunity to get a full refund.
Disappointment and anger
Ticket holders to the highly anticipated Tiesto concert expressed a mixture of disappointment and anger at the way organisers had notified them of the event's cancellation.
"I arrived to the venue at three in the afternoon with my friends and everything was being set up..we went out to get some food but when we returned, we were told that it was cancelled but weren't given a proper reason why. We were all very disappointed and in the end, we went to the Shangri La hotel to salvage our evening...I don't think we will go to any more Flash events after this because of the way the situation was handled," Omar Al Raisi, an Emirati based in Al Ain who works in an events production company, said.
Others had even booked rooms for the weekend of the event at the Aloft hotel, which is located at Adnec. And while some had decided to cancel their reservations or check out, others had decided not to let the concert's cancellation affect their plans.
"We saw a notice in a publication about the concert and purchased tickets as soon as they were available..we're fans of Tiesto so it's disappointing that we won't be able to see him live," Nicole Swayer, a UK expatriate studying at the Paris Sorbonne University, said.
She was attending the concert with her mother, Catherine, who noted that they would be more cautious about purchasing tickets in the future as a result of the cancellation.
"We drove all the way from Dubai and even booked a hotel room at Aloft. We aren't going to cancel our reservation but in the future, instead of buying advance tickets, we'll wait and buy them on the door just in case," she said.
Even ticketholders residing in the capital expressed their dismay at the cancellation, and wondered why the technical malfunction that caused the cancellation was not caught earlier.
"This concert was supposed to be the highlight of my weekend...I was looking forward to experiencing Tiesto live because I'm a big fan of his. I wouldn't mind going to see him again if he comes back as sometimes these things happen. But the organisers should have been more prepared and checked everything ahead of the concert so there was time to fix anything that wasn't working," Anna Rudzka, a Polish expatriate who is a teacher at the GLENELG School, said. "I don't think this will really stop me from going to other Flash events because I've enjoyed the concerts they had organised in the past," she added.
