Topline
One day before Adele’s months-long residency in Las Vegas was set to begin Friday, the singer postponed the concert series — for which tickets have been resold at upwards of $1,000 — due to coronavirus cases among crew members.
Singer Adele poses at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles.
Key Facts
Adele posted a tearful, apologetic video to Instagram explaining that Covid-19 and “delivery delays” have made the Caesars Palace residency — which included two weekly concerts from this weekend to mid-April — “impossible to finish.”
She estimated half of the show’s crew has contracted Covid-19.
The singer promised all concerts will be rescheduled, but didn’t offer a timeline or any further details.
A Caesars Entertainment spokesperson said in a statement to Forbes: “We fully support Adele and are confident the show she unveils at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace will be extraordinary.”
Crucial Quote
“My show ain’t ready,” the singer said on Instagram. “We’ve tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you, but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and Covid.”
Key Background
Adele announced the residency in November, following the release of 30, the Grammy-winning singer’s first studio album in six years. The album sold more than a million copies last year, and its lead single “Easy On Me” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the last nine weeks. Her 12-week, 24-show Las Vegas residency sold out rapidly late last year, and many tickets were offered up on reselling site Stubhub for more than $1,000, with the priciest offerings listed at over $30,000, Forbes reported in December.
Tangent
Nevada averaged more than 6,000 new Covid-19 cases a day in the weeklong period ending Wednesday, a more than threefold increase in three weeks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures. The spike mirrors a nationwide jump in coronavirus infections over the last month, driven by the virus’ more contagious omicron variant. The new wave of infections has forced some other big events to weigh delays. The Grammy Awards were postponed from January to April and shifted from Los Angeles to Las Vegas this week, and the NFL, NBA and NHL rescheduled some games last month due to team Covid-19 outbreaks.
Further Reading
Tickets To Adele’s Las Vegas Residency Are Going For $30,000 On Resale Sites (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/01/20/adele-postpones-las-vegas-residency-due-to-staff-covid-infections/