Collabro fans disappointed as Telford Big Top show cancelled last minute

Musical theatre group Collabro pulled out of their show at Telford's Big Top last night, saying it was due to 'technical issues' at the venue.

The group, who won Britain's Got Talent in 2014, were due to perform at the Big Top tent in Telford Town Park as part of the fortnight of entertainment celebrating Telford's 50th birthday.

WATCH: Fans gutted as gig cancelled

However the four-piece group's performance was cancelled at the last minute - after fans had queued for over an hour.

It comes after there were issues getting fans into the Russell Watson concert - the first Telford50 event - and delays of about 30 minutes at the Boyzlife concert last Friday.

In a statement released on Facebook, Collabro blamed technical issues beyond their control, including equipment not being provided and not being able to complete a sound check despite being ready.

Telford & Wrekin Council later said it did not not 'fully agree' with Collabro's statement but said that refunds would be issued through Oakengates Theatre @ The Place.

Collabro said they would ensure the promoters are held to account in a statement which said: "We apologise sincerely to our fans who were looking forward to seeing us in Telford tonight but unfortunately we have had to take the decision not to perform.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly.

"It is solely due to technical issues at the venue which are beyond our control.

"Equipment was not provided, despite assurances for many weeks it would be and even by 7.45pm most of it hadn’t arrived.

"We hadn’t even had a sound check, despite being ready, which usually takes around one hour.

"Our fans are the most important part of what we do, and we would never cancel a concert lightly. We tried every way to may this work for you.

"We will ensure that the promoters responsible for the event are held to account and our fans properly recompensed.

"We are sad for you and sorry that this is outside of our control.

"Our management team are working on a solution and will report back shortly.

"Sorry x"

A statement from Telford & Wrekin Council on Friday morning said: "We are very disappointed for almost 600 fans who were at the Big Top that Collabro decided at around 7.40pm on Thursday to pull out.

"Clearly this was a huge let down to the ticket holders and for us. It is particularly disappointing given that we have had much positive feedback from audiences and other performers at the Big Top.

"We were first informed of this via a statement on Collabro’s Facebook page and we sought to let people know as quickly as possible.

"We are today contacting everyone who bought tickets to Collabro to issue them with a full ticket refund.

"We are going to talk further with Collabro’s management about the reasons for their cancellation of last night’s show, as we don’t fully agree with everything in their statement, and want to work with them to ensure that this is put right for the fans who were there.

"Russell Watson was our opening show, and the first date of his whole tour, so on the evening his technical team spent some extra time testing their equipment during extended rehearsals to ensure that audiences got the quality of show they deserved. We have received fantastic feedback about the quality of Russell’s performance on stage and we were delighted that everyone enjoyed this show.

"Boyzlife performed with us on August 10 and also took some extra time warming up to ensure that audiences got the show they were expecting. We kept audiences entertained with a support act which we booked, again which we received great feedback about."

Some fans travelled for hours to get to the event from areas such as Edinburgh and Dorset, then queued for about an hour to get into the concert.

Connor Buttery and Amy Roberts from Telford were at the event last night.

Connor said: "It looks like there hasn't been enough equipment. It's a bit of a shame, we had to stand around for quite a while.

"They've already promised refunds."

Amy added: "I was looking forward to it, it was probably the highlight of my day."

Fans took to social media to vent their frustration, with some blaming the council and others blaming Collabro.

Pensioners Graham and Carol Powell flagged up issues with the Russell Watson concert last week, then headed to last night's concern early to avoid the same problems.

The 70-year-old from Horsehay, said: "We went to the Russell Watson concert and there was some confusion about getting in and it took some time.

"There were steps with no hand rail and it just looked like it had been a bit of a rush.

"One of the organisers said to me 'well it is our first event' and I said I didn't pay £40 to be told that.

"But on the other hand the volunteers tried their best and the concert itself was excellent.

"We got to the concert early last night at about 6.45pm and there was a queue of about 30 yards.

"It soon became obvious the queue was getting longer and wasn't moving.

"As time went on there were all sorts of rumours about one of the band members not turning up and the equipment not arriving.

"It was about 7.45pm when someone inside said there would be an announcement shortly and at 7.55pm someone said it was cancelled.

"Personally I thought the communication was abysmal, someone somewhere must've known there was a problem."

The Big Top celebrations finish on Saturday night with a performance from the Big Sing Gospel Voices after Black Country comedian Doreen Tipton's show on Friday evening.

Star names who have appeared over the last fortnight include Russell Watson, Dara O'Briain, Al Murray and Boyzlife.

On Wednesday the tent was sold out for 90s and noughties favourites East 17, 5ive and S Club.