Entertainment

One Direction shows go ahead while cancelled gig rescheduled

Hundreds of fans were disappointed when One Direction cancelled their first Belfast gig at the last minute 
Hundreds of fans were disappointed when One Direction cancelled their first Belfast gig at the last minute 
By Suzanne McGonagle

ONE Direction's two remaining concerts will go ahead in Belfast, it has been announced.

Last night's cancelled gig at the SSE Arena had also been rescheduled for Friday night. It comes after the band pulled out of their concert in the city when Liam Payne took ill.

The announcement was made in a statement by the concert promoters this afternoon.

"Tonight’s and tomorrow night's One Direction concerts in SSE Arena, Belfast will be going ahead as planned," they said.

"Once again we apologise for the cancellation of last night’s One Direction show. We thank everyone for their understanding and their good wishes to Liam.

"Tuesday’s concert has been rescheduled for this Friday 23rd October. All tickets from last night's postponed concert will be valid for Friday.

"For anyone not able to attend the rescheduled show on Friday, please contact point of purchase for detail of how to obtain a refund."

Tuesday night's gig was due to be the first of three nights that the boy band were to play at the Northern Ireland venue during their On The Road Again tour.

Thousands of One Direction fans were left disappointed on Tuesday night as the band cancelled their Belfast show at 9pm - almost three hours after fans had arrived for the highly anticipated concert.

There were "parents booing and children crying" when the announcement was broken on stage, half an hour before the concert was due to start, that it would not be going ahead due to one of the band members, Liam Payne, having fallen ill.

Fans from across the world including Holland, France, Greece and further afield had travelled to Belfast to see the boys in concert, before they split next year.

TV presenter Eamonn Holmes aired his dissatisfaction with the situation on Twitter.

After One Direction fans reacted to his tweets, he added

Fan reactions on social media ranged from anger to get well wishes.

One fan questioned it all, asking: "Remember when Howard from Take That broke his ribs and the rest of them went on without him?! Take note #onedirectionbelfast".

Another wrote: "Not to be selfish but I flew home from uni for this, so kinda hoping for the best tomorrow.. #onedirectionbelfast #GetWellSoonLiam".

Referring to the scores of heartbroken teens, one fan commented: "I've never heard so many hearts break at one time #onedirectionBelfast."