Delfi looks back: concerts cancelled at the last moment in Latvia
After Pitbull's concert in Latvia was cancelled at the last minute in late July, Delfi recalls other cases in the country's concert history when anticipated shows failed to take place, including a Depeche Mode concert scrapped due to the singer's illness.
In late July, American performer Pitbull's concert in Latvia was cancelled at the last moment, prompting a look back at the history of the country's concert business and other instances when eagerly awaited shows did not go ahead as planned.
Growth of the concert business in Latvia
An active and fast-growing concert business in Latvia began taking shape in the early 2000s. Even so, large foreign concerts had already taken place in the 1990s after independence was restored — for instance, German band Blue System performed at the Mežaparks Great Bandstand in 1990. That same period also saw the first attempt at organizing a large-scale festival, Rock Summer, in 1996. The real breakthrough for the industry, however, came with the economic growth of the 2000s and the opening of a new venue, Arēna Rīga (now Xiaomi Arena), after which major concerts by foreign artists became a far more routine part of the entertainment business.
When concerts were cancelled after all
While most concerts in Latvia have gone ahead as scheduled, there have also been cases of last-minute cancellations. One of the best-known involved British synth-pop band Depeche Mode, whose concert did not take place due to health problems affecting frontman Dave Gahan. The band is especially popular in Latvia and the wider Baltic region and has performed there multiple times since the 1990s, but that particular case remains an exception in its concert history in the country.
