Fans in Toronto upset as Rogers outage forces postponement of The Weeknd concert

Thousands of people in downtown Toronto were disappointed Friday evening after the nationwide Rogers service outage forced the postponement of The Weeknd’s concert at Rogers Centre.

Fans had lined up all afternoon to see the Toronto-born singer-songwriter perform in his After Hours Till Dawn Tour.

But then, just 30 minutes before the show was to start, concert organizers confirmed over the public address system that the concert was called off.

Many frustrated fans at Rogers Centre booed as the announcement was made.

‘Rogers ruined The Weeknd’

“Rogers ruined The Weeknd, they cancelled the concert,” said a man named Sheldon, who didn’t give CBC News his last name.

“Their systems are down, they can’t check tickets or sell stuff,” said his companion, a woman named Anna.

“People went through a lot of trouble with the outages to get here,” she added.

Olivia Sabic, Aiden Bilon, and Alexia Liakos learned the concert was postponed when they heard someone yelling farther up the queue.

“There was a huge lineup, and then everyone left,” Liakos said.

“Everyone said the show was cancelled, and then we heard the announcement,” Sabic said.

“It’s concerning that Canada has just Bell and Rogers as its two main networks, and one thing goes down and it all kind of collapses,” Bilon said.

‘Disappointment is an understatement’

Chris Thaung, Hannah Gojdos, and Quinn Danielis saw fans moving in the opposite direction shortly after the postponement was announced.

“Disappointment is an understatement,” Gojdos said, adding this is the third time The Weeknd’s concert has been cancelled.

“This is the Rogers Centre, they’ve had from 6 a.m. to figure out alternative methods,” Danielis said. “It’s completely unacceptable.”

Many fans milled around the outside of the stadium for a while after hearing the news, but the crowd ultimately thinned out and dispersed.

The stage setup for The Weeknd’s Toronto concert is photographed at the Rogers Centre on July 8, 2022. The concert was cancelled 30-minutes before its scheduled start time due to ongoing service outages. (CBC) Tickets honoured at later date, venue says

In a statement, Rogers Centre apologized for the inconvenience.

“We regret to announce that The Weeknd tour stop at Rogers Centre has been postponed to a later date due to service outages impacting venue operations,” the statement reads.

“Information on a new show date will be shared as soon as possible.”

Rogers Centre said tickets will be honoured for the new date.

The Toronto Blue Jays also released a statement.

“We regret to announce that The Weeknd tour stop at Rogers Centre has been postponed due to service outages impacting venue operations,” the statement reads. 

“A new show date will be shared ASAP and tickets will be honoured. We understand how disappointing this is and apologize for the inconvenience.”