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1D gigs go on, but at expense of ice-hockey fans

One Direction fans queuing outside the SSE Arena, Belfast on Wednesday were delighted the gigs were going ahead. Picture by Hugh Russell
One Direction fans queuing outside the SSE Arena, Belfast on Wednesday were delighted the gigs were going ahead. Picture by Hugh Russell One Direction fans queuing outside the SSE Arena, Belfast on Wednesday were delighted the gigs were going ahead. Picture by Hugh Russell

ONE Direction finally took to the stage in Belfast after Tuesday's controversial cancellation - but faced fresh criticism from angry ice hockey fans.

The world's biggest boyband - Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - performed at the SSE Arena after their first gig in the city was called off when Payne became ill.

The cancellation on Tuesday night, just half an hour before the show was due to begin, left fans in tears and raised fears that their remaining two gigs could also be in doubt.

But after several hours of waiting on Wednesday, it was announced that the chart-topping group would perform their remaining dates.

They will also play their rescheduled show on Friday night.

However, the change came at the expense of the Belfast Giants and Sheffield Steelers ice-hockey teams who were due to play at the venue.

Tony Smith, owner of the Sheffield Steelers, said it was "unacceptable" their game had been cancelled, adding that it was "not the end of the matter".

Steelers' operations director Shaun Smith also said the move would "inconvenience, disrupt and hurt financially both the club and our supporters" who had booked their trips to Belfast.

"We are disappointed that the game isn't proceeding not only for ourselves but for the many fans who have already booked their travel, hotel and game night tickets," he said.

"We appreciate as well as anyone when things out of your control can sometimes happen that cause games to be cancelled.

"We believe this is a commercial decision taken by the arena... We await further communication with Belfast in due course."

Neil Walker, general manager of the SSE Arena, said they had "assessed all possible options" before taking the decision.

"We are extremely grateful to the Belfast Giants and Sheffield teams and apologise to their fans for the inconvenience caused - we are very grateful to them for their understanding and accommodation of the nearly 10,000 young concert fans who were so devastated by the cancellation last night," he said.

A date has yet to be set for the sports fixture, but a second scheduled clash between the two sides at the SSE Arena on Saturday will go ahead as planned.

Meanwhile, for One Direction fans - many of whom queued outside the SSE Arena in the rain on Wednesday - it was a case of huge relief.

As the announcement was made that the remaining shows - part of On The Road Again Tour - were going ahead, fans cheered and cried tears of happiness.

Few details have been released about the nature of Payne's illness that led to the sudden cancellation.

There was still much criticism on Wednesday of the group after many fans had spent up to three hours waiting in the arena on Tuesday night.

None of the four-piece addressed the crowd personally, leaving a representative for the venue to come out on stage and read a statement.

Payne (22) broke his silence in a series of Twitter messages on Wednesday, thanking his distraught fans for their support and describing his excitement to get back on stage.

"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," he wrote.

"Thank you so much for all the trends and lovely messages you guys did for me it really shows how amazing u guys actually are."