"A further announcement regarding the concert arrangements will be made early next week.”
(Pic by Jonathan White)
UPDATE: Rod Stewart has confirmed that tomorrow night's show in Adelaide (Mar 21) will be going ahead as planned.
Sharing a video to Instagram, the singer said: "The [Adelaide] show will be going ahead. I had a slight setback in Melbourne because I had strep throat, but I'm fine now and I'll be there. Looking forward to it."
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Sir Rod Stewart had no choice but to cancel his appearance at A Day On The Green festival at the Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday, with a viral infection making his throat “too irritated to sing”.
He made the announcement on social media. The official A Day On The Green social media account shared a separate statement, revealing that the day had been cancelled just four hours before doors opened.
“Hello my friends. I'm absolutely downhearted that I'm disappointing my fans who bought tickets to A Day on The Green,” Stewart began his statement.
"Late this morning I was advised that I have a viral infection and my throat is too irritated to sing. I'm only human and sometimes get sick just like you do. My greatest joy is performing for you, so I'm doing everything I can to get on the mend and back on stage!"
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❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/zvs2PypskQ
— Sir Rod Stewart (@rodstewart) March 18, 2023
Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens were also supposed to perform at the event.
A Day On The Green’s social media announcement read, “Live Nation and Roundhouse Entertainment regret to announce that tonight’s performance by Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens at Mt. Duneed Estate, Geelong will not go ahead, due to illness.
“We apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience to ticket holders. A further announcement regarding the concert arrangements will be made early next week.”
Live Nation and Roundhouse Entertainment regret to announce that tonight’s performance by Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens at Mt. Duneed Estate, Geelong will not go ahead, due to illness.
— a day on the green (@ADayOnTheGreen) March 18, 2023
(Statement continued in comments) pic.twitter.com/SoKcHw7CyG
Some fans on Facebook shared their disappointment, particularly those who had already booked accommodation to stay in Geelong for A Day On The Green.
“We were already in Geelong and obviously had already paid for the accommodation. Concert was starting at 3.30 and I received an email at 2.30 to say it had been cancelled. He had been sick for a couple of days so why wouldn’t they cancel earlier?,” one Facebook user wrote, hoping that the rescheduled event is one punters can still attend.
Another said, “Maybe a text to the ticket holders would be nice. Not everyone has Facebook.”
Rod Stewart’s Australian tour continues tomorrow at AEC Arena in Adelaide, with two shows in Mount Cotton, Queensland; Pokolbin and Bowral in New South Wales, and two dates in New Zealand.