THOUSANDS of Scottish rock music fans have been turned away from a major outdoor concert by the American band Green Day after it was cancelled at the 11th hour because of poor weather.
Organisers of the Bellahouston Park event – featuring Green Day, Rancid, Slaves and The Skids – said the show had to be cancelled because rain had made conditions unsafe on stage.
However, fans were informed of the decision just half an hour before doors to the large open air concert was due to open, with the first act due onstage at 4pm.
Read more: Green Day ‘distraught’ at having to cancel Glasgow gig due to poor weather
In a social media post, a sound engineer suggested there had been problems with the stage and equipment, and construction of the stage was behind schedule.
It also emerged that agency staff due to work at the concert were sent home empty handed, though the cost of their travel will be reimbursed.
In a statement, Green Day said they had been left “distraught” by the move taken by the “local safety council”. On Tuesday, Glasgow City Council said it had been promoters and managers linked to the band who pulled the plug on the concert.
“We have been playing in extreme weather conditions throughout this European tour, and the last thing we want to do is see a show cancelled," said the statement.
“We love our Scottish fans and we don’t care if its raining f***ing sideways, although the safety of our fans and our crew is always our top priority."
Tickets were priced at more than £50 for the concert which was almost sold out and expected to attract almost 35,000 people.
PCL said all tickets would be refunded within ten days.
Read more: Green Day ‘distraught’ at having to cancel Glasgow gig due to poor weather
Charlotte Durcan, from Lincolnshire, told the BBC that she and her family had travelled nearly four hours to attend the concert.
"We arrived safely, paid for parking, paid for our hotel, and at 13:45 received an e-mail to say that the concert has been cancelled," she said.
"We could have saved our money," she added.
"The hotel won't reimburse us as there is a 72-hour notice period. We will be staying there for one night only as we just came for the concert. We're not really sure how to pass the time now.
"It's my first time in Glasgow and it has ruined my Glasgow experience."
Green Day, in its statement, said they would play again in Glasgow.
“The local safety council, production crew, and concert organisers have deemed the stage unsafe for the fans and everyone involved.
“We are very distraught about this as we are in Glasgow now and were very much looking forward to this show as one the highlights of our tour.”
Read more: Green Day ‘distraught’ at having to cancel Glasgow gig due to poor weather
Business expert Graham Birse, former director of the Edinburgh Institute management school at Edinburgh Napier University, said the cancellation had been a “slap in the face” to the city.
Mr Birse said: “In terms of reputation, I think Green Day’s is likely to be damaged more than Glasgow’s.
“I’ve seen worse weather in July in Scotland, I don’t follow that logic, it’s not blowing a hoolie.
“Glasgow had worked very hard to become the main city outside London for concerts, and this is a bit of a slap in the face to the city.”
A statement from concert organiser PCL Presents said: "It is with great sadness and disappointment that today's scheduled event for Green Day at Bellahouston Park was unable to go ahead.
"After many months of hard work and preparation, and after seven days of production and site crew working tirelessly around the clock on site, adverse weather conditions overnight and throughout the morning, during the band's scheduled load-in, led to issues on stage.
"A meeting between the on-site health and safety, event management, the artists' representatives and promoters concluded that it would be unsafe in the timescale to proceed with the event.
"Ticket holders for the event can be assured that they will be able to receive refunds from point of purchase. We expect these to have all been processed within 10 working days.
"We have been informed that a statement has been made by a sub-contracted bar company, that statement was made without speaking to us and without knowledge, we are in the process of investigating this fully.
"Months of effort, planning and hard work have been put into this event and we are all heartbroken that this event was unable to happen today."
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