World

Rotterdam concert cancelled over 'terror threat'

A concert in the Dutch city of Rotterdam has been cancelled amid a terror alert. Picture from Press Association
A concert in the Dutch city of Rotterdam has been cancelled amid a terror alert. Picture from Press Association A concert in the Dutch city of Rotterdam has been cancelled amid a terror alert. Picture from Press Association

A CONCERT in Rotterdam was cancelled last night because of a "terror threat", Dutch police have said.

The city's mayor said the driver of a van from Spain had been detained after a warning from Spanish police. The tip-off came just days after terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spain.

"Police took this information seriously enough that after discussion with organisers it was decided to cancel the event," a Rotterdam police statement said.

An investigation was under way, but no arrests have been made, police said.

Concert organiser Rotown said earlier on Twitter that the concert venue, Maassilo, was being evacuated because of the unspecified threat.

The show by American rock group Allah-Lahs had not yet started.

The four-piece band from Los Angeles told The Guardian last year they chose the word Allah, Arabic for God, because they were seeking a "holy sounding" name and did not realise it might cause offence.

"We get emails from Muslims, here in the US and around the world, saying they're offended, but that absolutely wasn't our intention," lead singer Miles Michaud told the newspaper.

"We email back and explain why we chose the name, and mainly they understand."