GURGAON: The first Indian concert of the gods of rock, Metallica, which was earlier postponed to Saturday due to a technical fault, has been cancelled following the organisers’ inability to secure a permit. Refunds will be announced within the next 24 hours.
The four-member American heavy metal band was excited about playing for the Indian fans and is said to be “deeply disappointed” with the cancellation.
“Metallica arrived in Delhi on Friday very excited and ready to play their first show ever in India at the F1 Rocks concert,” Lars Ulrich, one of the founding members of the band, said in a press statement.
“However, immediately at the end of the press conference at a hotel near the venue the band was notified that there was a serious question as to whether the show could proceed with regard to safety of the concert audience.
Metallica’s first and foremost concern is always for the safety of their concert fans,” he added.
The show was initially scheduled to take place at the Leisure Valley Ground here Friday evening.
Over 25,000 fans had gathered at the venue to witness the high voltage performance, that the band is known for. Most fans wore black Metallica t-shirts to show their love — but returned in anger after the show was postponed.
Some fans vandalised the venue by burning posters and banners, and also broke some equipment on the stage.
Due to the chaos caused, four people, including a top official of the company organising the concert, were arrested early Saturday on charges of cheating and breach of trust, as the event was postponed at the last moment.
They were arrested under section 406 (breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, Gurgaon’s Sector 29 Station House Officer Jagdish Prasad told IANS.
The Metallica concert was the opener for the ‘F1 Rocks’ series of performances for the Formula 1 event.
Here’s what went wrong: “Once the promoters of the show, DNA Networks, and Metallica determined that there was a failure of a security barricade in front of the stage that could not be adequately repaired, they reluctantly announced the postponement of the show until Saturday.
“Unfortunately, on such short notice the promoters were unable to secure a permit for a show on Saturday, therefore DNA announced that Metallica would not be able to play in Delhi.”
As for the ticket refunds, “within the next 24 hours a notification will be issued by DNA Networks regarding the process for full refunds.”
The entry to the show was priced between Rs.1,650 and Rs.2,750, and had drawn in fans from several states and cities like Kerala, Manipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur and countries like Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Indonesia and Singapore.
Metallica is due to perform in Bangalore Sunday. (IANS)