Lewis Capaldi at O2 Academy Glasgow: Virgin Media O2 issues statement after free gig is cancelled

The concert, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, was to be held on Wednesday 7 June
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Lewis Capaldi has cancelled all performances and work commitments for the next three weeks, including a free concert that was to be held tomorrow (7 June) in partnership with Virgin Media O2 at O2 Academy Glasgow. The free concert was exclusively for Virgin Media broadband and O2 mobile customers through Priority, with over 900 pairs of tickets available prior to the concert’s cancellation. 

The singer, 26 from Glasgow, announced on Monday night (5 June) that he would be taking time to “rest and recover” prior to his performance at Glastonbury on 24 June. Lewis previously announced he would be performing in his hometown on Instagram, saying: “can’t wait to be coming home for this one @o2uk.” 

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In response to Lewis' decision, a Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to say that Lewis is unable to perform at Wednesday’s exclusive gig for Priority customers due to his need to take some time to rest and recover.

“We fully respect and appreciate Lewis’ need to take a bit of time out, and look forward to seeing him back on stage soon. Due to these circumstances we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the show and will be contacting ticket holders directly. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The concert, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, was to be held on Wednesday 7 JuneThe concert, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, was to be held on Wednesday 7 June
The concert, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, was to be held on Wednesday 7 June

The Glasgow show is one of three cancelled concerts in addition to Capital's Summertime Ball with Barclaycard, which will go ahead without Lewis as a headliner. The singer will return to the stage on 24 June at Glastonbury following the three-week break. 

This is the first break Lewis has taken after performing the US leg of his ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’ tour earlier this year, which was directly followed by a series of “intimate” concerts and Q&A’s Lewis performed to celebrate the release of his second album. 

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Lewis announced the news in an emotional Instagram post following the cancellation of FM104’s The Gig, which he was meant to perform at on 5 June but pulled out due to an unspecified illness. A few hours later, Lewis took to Instagram to announce that he needed to take some time for himself. 

His statement read: "Hi everyone, hope you're well. This is a really difficult message and one that hurts me a lot to have to type. But I'm really sorry to say that I'm going to have to cancel all commitments from now until I play Glastonbury on June 24th.

"It's been such an incredible time leading into this new album, and seeing all of the support from everyone has been beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. That said, the last few months have been full on both mentally and physically, I haven't been home properly since Christmas and at the moment I'm struggling to get to grips with it all. 

"I need to take a moment to rest and recover, to be at my best and ready for Glastonbury and all of the other incredible shows coming up so that I'm able to continue doing what I love for a long time to come. 

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"I need to take these three weeks to be Lewis from Glasgow for a bit, spend some time with my family and friends and do normal life things that are an important part of me feeling better. I hope everyone understands.

"I know many of you will have spent money on travel or hotels, which I appreciate more than ever with how difficult things are economically at the moment, so I'm extremely sorry for the impact this will have.

"The fact you're willing to come out and spend your time, money and love on these shows is beyond comprehension and I feel incredibly lucky. I'm getting all the help and support I need from the incredible people around me who I'm so grateful for. I take none of this for granted and can't wait to be back doing it again. All my love, Lewis x"

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