One of the world’s biggest heavy metal acts has cancelled its much-anticipated Tel Aviv show, as part of a wave of cancellations resulting from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Iron Maiden and the show’s organizers announced Thursday that its May 30th concert, which was planned to be held at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium with Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land opening the show, will not be held.
“Unfortunately we have been forced to announce the cancellation of the Iron Maiden concert, due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
“The show which had been planned for May 30th 2020 at Bloomfield Stadium will not be held. Card holders will receive a direct message early next week with details on the timing of their refund.”
The event’s promoters, Shuki Weiss and Live Nation Israel, said they had tried to settle on a new date for the concert, but were unsuccessful.
Iron Maiden’s manager, Rod Smallwood, announced Thursday that the band would be cancelling all of its upcoming 2020 shows, and would not perform again in public until June 2021.
Smallwood said the band hoped to reschedule its show in Israel, but added that it would likely not occur before 2022.
“Due to the continuing health issues Worldwide around Covid-19 we regretfully inform you that Iron Maiden will now not be playing any concerts until June 2021.”
“In respect of what should have been the opening leg of the 2020 tour starting on May 1 in Perth, Australia and visiting New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, Dubai and Israel, we are currently working on a possible return to as many of these countries as we can, in some guise, in the first half of 2022, more news on that will follow at the appropriate time.”
The now cancelled concert was to have been Iron Maiden’s first appearance in the Jewish state in a quarter of a century, following three shows in September 1995, during the band’s X-Factor tour.