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Music fans in Bahrain are facing disappointment yet again, as another internationally-renowned artist has cancelled his gig at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in the wake of surgery.
Avicii, the 24-year-old Swede whose real name is Tim Bergling, was scheduled to play at the BIC as the main attraction over the Formula 1 weekend, but is instead in a Miami hospital recovering from an operation to remove his gall bladder.
This occurrence is eerily reminiscent of 2012, when American electro-pop duo LMFAO cancelled their F1 show at the eleventh-hour citing a broken fibular and dislocated ankle of one of their key members, DJ Air, as the reason.
The performer initially cancelled his performance at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami over the weekend, and took to his Twitter account (@AVICII) on Friday to explain his situation to his 1.31 million followers.
“I’m really sorry but as some of you have already heard, I will not be playing Ultra Festival this weekend. My fans know that I have had issues in the past with my stomach and pancreatitis … I woke up on Wednesday morning with serious pain but I flew to Miami anyway, hoping that it would go away.
“The pain was still there when I landed so I went straight to hospital. I was treated and left later that night. Unfortunately, the pain came back yesterday afternoon and I returned to the hospital where they admitted me to stay overnight.”
Fans in Bahrain were on tenterhooks over the weekend waiting for any form of news about the F1 gig, as the situation quickly developed into a ‘will he, won’t he appear?’ affair. Things began to look bleak on Saturday as a tweet sent out by the star seemed to hint that he would not make it to the kingdom or to an earlier gig in Dubai.
He revealed: “My operation was a routine procedure and all going well, I expect to be fully recovered and back on my feet in time for my US True Tour.”
The True Tour begins on April 10 in Boston, Massachusetts, five days after two-time Grammy-nominated DJ/producer Avicii’s scheduled show on Saturday night in Bahrain.
On Sunday evening the worst was confirmed when the official Twitter account of the BIC released a statement. “We regret to announce that Avicii will not be able to perform during the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. He is currently recovering from surgery and has been advised by doctors to curtail all activities for now. We wish him all the very best.”
There will no doubt be many young fans devastated at the prospect of missing out on seeing the popular artist perform international hits such as Wake Me Up, Hey Brother and Levels. However, the BIC offered some hope for the future as they added: “We are currently studying different options for rescheduling Avicii’s concert to a later date. Stay tuned for more information.”
Avicii’s cancellation has left music fans frustrated as he is renowned for his live shows, bringing audiences to ecstatic moments of party bliss and ‘driving the crowd bonkers’, according to Rolling Stone magazine, who have also hailed him as ‘one of the princes of the contemporary renaissance of electronic dance music’.
He leads the next generation of electronic music producers to explode, propelling him into the ranks of superstar DJs who perform to massive crowds.
University student Qaasim Hendricks, 21, from Arad, said: “I will still be going to the BIC this weekend and will enjoy the race, but I am sad that I won’t be able to watch Avicii as I’m a fan of his music.”
German rock band Scorpions will headline Saturday’s show.
