Fan says people threw up, passed out during Ed Sheeran concert delays in Las Vegas

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By Shawna Khalafi

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    LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — Singer Ed Sheeran was set to take the stage at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, but the hour-long delay and eventual cancellation of the concert had fans left outside in triple digit temperatures. One attendee said some fans were falling ill in the heat, and many were fuming about how it was all handled.

“The crowds were chanting let us in, they were booing,” said Cassie Barnett. “At that point, people just kind of started dropping like flies. People all around us were starting to pass out and they needed to sit down.”

It was supposed to be a bucket list trip for Cassie and her 13-year-old daughter Lily — who drove from Phoenix to Las Vegas to see Ed Sheeran in concert at Allegiant Stadium.

They were at the front of the line when doors were set to open at 4:30 p.m., but they were told there’d be an hour delay.

Quickly, the triple digit heat set in, as Cassie says her daughter and others started feeling sick.

“She told me that she felt like she was going to throw up, and she leaned over the bars and started vomiting,” said Cassie. “There were quite a few people in our close vicinity that were also feeling faint, throwing up.”

She said the shade was limited, the cooling tents weren’t working, and vendors were out of water, giving out ice from their coolers.

“It was just an incredibly scary experience,” said Cassie. “All the while, people are shouting at the security guards to give us some water.”

Cassie said stadium staff refused to share their water supply with the rest of the crowd, as they grew more restless outside the gate.

“Finally, enough people ended up pushing their way inside that they just opened the doors for everybody to come inside,” she said. “At that point, more chaos started to arise because they were not prepared for that situation.”

However, since they were still not allowed to go to their seats, Cassie said people were now packed in the stadium lobby.

“Shoulder-to-shoulder, you couldn’t walk through. There were alarms going off to shut down the escalators because people were getting stuck with no way out,” she said. “They were falling ill in the middle of a crowd, and while the ambulance was attending to my daughter, making sure she way okay, they were getting calls left and right, multiple people barely able to make it through the crowds.”

After all this, fans eventually learned that the concert was canceled.

Allegiant Stadium shared on social media that it’s been rescheduled for October 28 but didn’t share further details as to why.

Ed Sheeran on Instagram Sunday said the cancelation was due to a safety issue: “It was a safety issue, and we really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything. I really am gutted, this was very much out of my control but I do take full responsibility for everyone that was put out from the cancellation. Of course refunds are available at point of purchase, and there is a rescheduled show October the 28th if people still want to come, I promise it will be special. Nothing will take away from the effort people went to to get to vegas though and I’m sorry it wasn’t communicated sooner to the people waiting outside. We really thought the show was going to happen up until the very last moment but it just couldn’t for safety reasons. Sorry again to everyone affected, and hopefully see you in October x.”

Cassie and Lily say they will be back for the October 28 show, although it will be tough to afford another trip.

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