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One Direction cancel Belfast gig at last minute, leaving 'hundreds and hundreds' of teenage girls sobbing

The crowd was told singer Liam Payne was taken ill at the last moment, but that he is not seriously unwell

Rose Troup Buchanan
Wednesday 21 October 2015 08:16 BST
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A packed stadium full of mostly teenage girls burst into sobs and screams when boyband One Direction cancelled their show in Belfast at the last moment on Tuesday night.

Singer Liam Payne, one fourth of the hugely popular group, was unexpectedly taken ill at around 9pm just before he was due to appear in front of thousands of fans at the SSE Area.

A spokesperson has confirmed the 22-year-old star is not seriously ill.

Within the stadium, witnesses reported seeing “hundreds and hundreds” of sobbing girls as staff instructed fans to leave the auditorium.

Michael Green, who took his six-year-old daughter, told the BBC he was “disgusted” at the band’s behaviour.

Many Directioners posted their upset on Twitter, including many videos showing fans screaming, shouting and booing the cancellation.

Meanwhile, bandmates Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson both responded to fans by posting on their Twitter:

A spokesperson for the band apologised for their cancellation. They asked fans to hold onto their tickets until a fuller statement, expected later this morning.

The band had been expected to play three further nights in Belfast, as part of their On The Road Again tour.

Update: "Tonight and tomorrow night's One Direction concerts in Belfast will be going ahead as planned," a rep said. "Liam thanks everyone for their good wishes. Once again we apologise for the cancellation of last night’s One Direction show.

"Last night's concert will be rescheduled for this Friday 23rd October. All tickets from last night's postponed concert will be valid for Friday.

"For anyone not able to attend the rescheduled show on Friday, please contact point of purchase for detail of how to obtain a refund."

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