Ed Sheeran will not take the stage at Gillette Stadium this weekend after all.
Sheeran’s back-to-back concerts at the home of the New England Patriots have officially been canceled due to severe weather expected to hit the region, Robert Kraft confirmed in a statement to TMZ on Friday.
The decision comes just hours before Sheeran was scheduled to perform the first of two shows in Foxborough on Friday night. A second concert had been scheduled for Saturday.
“Stadium and tour management, along with public safety officials, have been closely monitoring the weather forecast over the past week,” Kraft told TMZ. “Due to the severe weather forecast throughout the weekend, the tour has made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium.”
Kraft said safety ultimately drove the decision.
“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” he added. “Refunds are available now at the point of purchase. Ticketholders who purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded.”
Ed Sheeran Shows Canceled After Stage Construction Was Halted
Friday’s announcement ends a tense stretch for fans who had been waiting to find out whether the shows could proceed as a powerful nor’easter approached New England.
The concerts had not yet been canceled as of Friday morning, even after TMZ reported Thursday that production crews had been told to pause construction of Sheeran’s stage.
According to the outlet, the stage had been partially assembled Thursday morning before work was halted later in the day as officials monitored the forecast and considered whether it would be safe to move forward.
Now, the decision is final.
TMZ reported that Foxborough could receive between one and two inches of rain, with wind gusts reaching up to 40 mph. With Gillette Stadium exposed to the elements and a massive concert production involved, officials ultimately pulled the plug on both nights rather than risk the safety of fans and workers.
The cancellation also means fans who purchased their tickets through Ticketmaster will not need to separately request refunds. According to Kraft’s statement, those refunds will be issued automatically.
Gillette Stadium Weekend Ends After Tumultuous Lead-Up
The weather created one final complication in what had already become an unusually eventful lead-up to Sheeran’s Foxborough dates.
The Gillette Stadium shows had drawn increased attention after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour, setting off a series of developments involving other performers and prompting some Massachusetts ticket holders to seek refunds.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced Thursday that Ticketmaster had agreed to make refunds available to customers who no longer wanted to attend following what her office called “significant changes to the lineup.”
Those concerns, however, ultimately had nothing to do with Friday’s cancellation.
The decision to call off both Gillette Stadium concerts was made because of the severe weather forecast, according to Kraft’s statement.
For fans who had been waiting until the final hours to find out whether Friday night’s concert would happen, there is now an answer.
Sheeran’s two-show Gillette Stadium run is officially off.
Ed Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium Concerts Officially Canceled