One Direction cancelled a concert in Belfast, Ireland last Tuesday, Oct. 20, minutes before the musical event was slated to begin as Liam Payne became ill and was unable to go on stage. This was the first of three concerts that they were supposed to play in the SSE Arena.
According to reports, the concert was cancelled 30 minutes before the boy band was supposed to go on stage, and most people in the audience were already inside the concert venue. According to BBC, disappointed fans booed as concert organizers asked them to leave the stadium, and one witness said that "hundreds" of girls and women were seen weeping bitterly due to the show's cancellation. Others expressed their anger by tearing up banners that fans prepared for the concert. Before leaving, the concert goers were advised to hold on to their tickets.
Concert promoter Aiken PR released a statement, saying, "The show tonight has been cancelled as Liam has taken ill, and whilst not serious, he is unable to perform tonight."
One fan said to BBC, "Not ok. They could have told us earlier...for three hours [we've been] waiting."
The nature of Payne's illness is unclear at the moment, but an insider told The Sun that Payne had a backstage meltdown as he was allegedly unable to cope with the pressures of fame.
"The pressures of fame and being on the road for two years have made Liam ill," said the source. "He was devastated about letting everybody down, especially the fans, but he wasn't physically able to get on stage."
The source added that Payne has been stressed for quite some time now and it didn't help "that his future is uncertain with the break coming up." The boy band announced earlier this year that they will go on a one-year hiatus to focus on their individual projects.
The concert has now been rescheduled for Friday, Oct. 23. Earlier on Wednesday, Payne took to Twitter to apologize to fans and wrote, "I'm so sorry to everybody I disappointed last night. I'm feeling better now. I really hope everyone can make the rescheduled date on Friday."
The Daily Mail reports that Payne was able to perform with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan on their Wednesday concert.
