Katy Perry abruptly cancels concert hours before show after being left with 'no choice'
Katy Perry abruptly cancels concert hours before show after being left with 'no choice'
Connor McCrorySun, June 28, 2026 at 4:13 AM UTC
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Katy Perry was forced to cancel her headlining performance at the Belgium festival -Credit:Corbis via Getty Images
Katy Perry scrapped her headlining set at Belgium's Werchter Boutique festival Saturday, telling fans that authorities ordered the cancellation just hours before she was due onstage as severe weather closed in.
The 41-year-old pop star, booked to close the festival after a set by Pitbull, broke the news on Instagram, saying officials left her no room to argue. She had been preparing backstage when the order came down.
"Sadly my set @WerchterBoutique tonight can't happen due to a government mandated cancellation because of the incoming inclement weather and crowd safety concerns," Perry wrote. She said she was getting ready for the show "when this news was delivered, and they gave me no choice." This comes as Katy was recently met with backlash after her performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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The singer told followers she shared their frustration.
"I am just as unhappy as you are," she wrote, calling the situation "beyond my control" and stressing that attendee safety came first.
"I am sorry I can't change the weather, and even sorrier that all of us can't be together tonight."
The cancellation was reportedly due to the venue's 'safety committee's' decision -Credit:Instagram
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Perry, who last played the festival in 2009, said she had hoped to mark her return in style.
"I was even gonna wear the same outfit from that 2009 show again. I love you all, and please get home safe," she wrote, closing with a sad-face emoji.
She also posted a photo of herself seated outdoors in striped sweatpants and a white robe, smoking a cigarette, the evening's intended outfit laid out beside her.
A separate image showed the festival's notice that the event would end at 9 p.m., an hour before her set was to start.
Katy apologized to her fans for the last minute change -Credit:WWD via Getty Images
Organizers blamed approaching thunderstorms. The early shutdown, they said, was meant to "ensure that the exit of visitors proceeds in a safe and orderly manner, allowing everyone to return home calmly. The safety and health of everyone present is always our top priority."
Perry has a packed summer ahead, including a June 30 stop at Depot Live's event at Cardiff Castle in Wales.
The cancellation came two days after she released the video for Watch It Burn, widely read as a swipe at ex-partner Orlando Bloom, from whom she split last year after nine years together. The pair share 5-year-old daughter Daisy.
The horror-themed clip, in which Perry morphs into a scorpion-human hybrid, drew enthusiastic reactions, with one fan posting, "SHES SO BACK, ABSOLUTE CINEMA."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
