Kings of Leon show cancelled after fire

A sell-out Kings of Leon concert at The O2 arena has been postponed after two tour buses were destroyed in a fire at the venue.

The arena in Greenwich, south-east London, was not affected by the blaze but the time it took to assess the damage meant there was no choice but to call off last night's show by the band, whose hit single "Sex On Fire" was No 1 for three weeks in 2008.

Six people needed treatment for smoke inhalation after the fire broke out in a loading area early yesterday morning, leaving the buses gutted. About 60 firefighters tackled the blaze.

A spokesman for the band said: "Kings of Leon send their sincerest apologies to all the fans who were planning and travelling to attend what was due to be a triumphant finale to their European tour."

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Arts & Ents blogs

Question Time with Mathew Jonson

Mathew Jonson has been a hero of mine for quite some time now. His timeless piece, Marionette, was o...

Something For The Weekend in London: May 24-26

We love London for its multiculturalism, so we’re all about that cross-cultural life this weekend by...

Owen Howells: From the UK to Australia and back again (and again!)

Owen Howells is a DJ/producer who grew up in Australia but was born in the UK. He came back to the U...

       

ES Rentals

    Andrew Mitchell: 'It's no good feeling hard done by'

    Andrew Mitchell: 'It's no good feeling hard done by'

    In his first interview since 'plebgate', the former Chief Whip opens up just enough to concede that, in politics, you have to take the rough with the smooth

    Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions

    He's worked with Modest Mouse, the Pet Shop Boys and Beck, to name a few, and recently released his first solo album. So why, wonders Johnny Marr, do people still hark on about The Smiths?
    Corruption and the FCO: Blue skies, white sands, dark clouds

    Corruption and the FCO: Blue skies, white sands, dark clouds

    Special report: Met police call for criminal inquiry into former diplomat's Cayman Islands rule
    Fallen angel: Winona Ryder on bouncing back from her decade in the wilderness

    Fallen angel: Winona Ryder bounces back

    She owned the 1990s... but then she disappeared. Now, Ms Ryder is back with quite the bang in her latest role, as the wife of a notorious real-life Mob hitman.
    Roman Polanski shakes Cannes Film Festival

    Roman Polanski shakes Cannes Film Festival

    The director's new film, 'Venus in Fur', is one of the raciest on offer
    Rev Richard Coles: 'I don’t have any concerns that God is cross with me for being gay and eventually the Church won’t either'

    Rev Richard Coles on the Church and homosexuality

    The mellifluous, erudite and witty Coles is the nation's most pop-culture-friendly priest
    'Baghdad likes to live from crisis to crisis': Civil war looms in Iraq

    Patrick Cockburn: Civil war looms in Iraq

    The governor of Kirkuk - one of the country's most violent but successful provinces - fears the worst
    Written on the body: Tattooists at pains to point out their artistic credentials

    Written on the body

    Tattooists at pains to point out their artistic credentials
    Conquering Everest: 60 facts about the world's tallest mountain

    Conquering Everest: 60 facts about the world's tallest mountain

    The IoS marks the sixtieth anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reaching the peak of the highest mountain on Earth
    A new, and irreversible, Dust Bowl looms

    Rupert Cornwell: A new, and irreversible, Dust Bowl looms

    The destructive power of tornadoes will be as nothing once the Great Plains' vast underground water reserve dries up
    Every creature's needless death diminshes us all

    Philip Hoare: Every creature's needless death diminishes us all

    A 60 per cent decline in our national species should alarm us, yet few of us act. But to mind more about animals would reflect well on society
    Killing with kindness: Burma's religious battleground - and the monks at the heart of it

    Killing with kindness: Burma's religious battleground

    Six years ago, the world cheered the monks behind Burma’s Saffron Revolution. Now, a horrific new eruption of religious slaughter is being blamed on a 'Buddhist Bin Laden'.
    Let's take it outside: Bill Granger's Bank Holiday feast

    Let's take it outside: Bill Granger's Bank Holiday feast

    You can’t always depend on the weather – but you can avoid the pitfalls of the British barbecue by preparing an elaborate outdoor feast indoors ahead of time...
    The Calvin report: Stirring Champions League final shows how far English game must advance

    The Calvin report

    Stirring Champions League final shows how far English game must advance
    10 big questions for the British & Irish Lions to answer

    10 big questions for the British & Irish Lions to answer

    Warren Gatland's squad fly Down Under aiming to do justice to the expectations – and hoping the Wallabies stay in the pub