Do you know the joke about those fans who went to see Adele?

...they didn't go. And no, this is — fortunately — not about me, but about quite a few fans who arrived quite stunned in Las Vegas on Friday. Some had paid around $10,000 for a ticket. I have my thoughts on that anyway (what a money), but in addition, hotels also had to be booked that obviously couldn't be canceled last minute. Josh Chavis from Kansas City told the BBC that his wife Heather had spent another $1,800 on flights and hotels besides the tickets. Poof. Money gone.

The reason Adele had to postpone her concerts, she said herself in a video on her Instagram, is that the show would be ‘not ready’. Many delays due to corona and many of her crew would be sick at home with corona, so it simply wouldn't have been possible to have her show ready on time. But soon various sources from Caesars Palace (the venue in Las Vegas where Adele was supposed to have her ‘residency’) reported something different. See here for example a screenshot from one of the employees. 

The show would indeed be ready, but Adele decided last minute that it still wasn't good enough for her. It was also said: ‘That whole ‘we ain't ready’ at the last moment makes no sense. This is not a show by The Rolling Stones. Adele live is herself, an orchestra, and some lighting. She's not flying around the room on a line. And, let's be honest... If the show really wasn't ready, it could have been postponed a few weeks. There are only two shows per weekend. Everything could have just been rescheduled. Now they just canceled everything, so it's not a matter of being ‘not ready’. That makes no sense.’ Aiii. Even worse: another employee of the show said that she was ‘breaking parts of the set herself and throwing things because she was so angry and wanted to change everything. The production had everything ready on time, they just couldn't fulfill the last-minute changes from her side. The show would have been so cool... There was literally a swimming pool on stage.’

Honestly: I would also be pretty pissed if I lost so much money on a concert, trip, and hotel that didn't happen. But one fan in particular was really done after this cancellation: Eleni Sabracos shared on TikTok that this would be the third time she would go to Adele, but that it certainly wasn't three times a charm. Admittedly: the first time was a bit her own fault (she bought fake tickets on Craigslist), but the second time she flew to London, where she had tickets for the ‘Golden Circle’. What happened? Right... Adele canceled the concert.

Is this something that happens more often with Adele? Unfortunately, yes. In 2016 (the concert Eleni Sabracos was supposed to go to) she canceled her last two concerts of her tour because her doctor advised this — she had sustained an injury to her vocal cords. Well, that's obviously really unfortunate and she can't do anything about that. A bit of a shame: these concerts were never rescheduled. And just a small side note: this was also announced on the day of the show itself.

In 2011 it happened once before, when she canceled her entire tour in the United States. The reason then was also that she would have an injury to her vocal cords. And yes, these shows were also never rescheduled.

Long story short: the fans are absolutely not happy. Caesars Palace is (understandably) also not happy. There is speculation on the internet that this will cost Adele millions. Normally, venues are insured if shows cannot go on due to unforeseen circumstances, so why should Adele have to pay for that herself? Unless, of course, the conclusion is that the cancellation did not really have a valid reason. In any case, this is bound to have a sequel and I am especially very curious if these shows will ever happen at all. A little bet, anyone?

PS. Eleni Sabracos is now happy again, because Adele herself FaceTimed the fan.

@elenisabracosTHIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING LADIES AND GENTS♬ original sound – Eleni