The Weeknd Postpones Toronto Tour Due To Massive Network Outage

So close, but so far!

Source: Amy Sussman / Getty

Welp, The Weeknd’s Toronto tour curse strikes again! According to People, the Grammy winner had to postpone his tour’s opening night in his hometown due to a nationwide network outage on Friday.

Rogers Wireless, one of Canada’s biggest telecommunications companies, experienced a system failure on Friday that brought the entire country to a halt. It happened just hours before The Weeknd was scheduled to kick off the After Hours Til Dawn tour at Rogers Centre. The concert venue is the largest in Toronto and is reportedly cashless, relying entirely on the Rogers infrastructure to process all transactions.

Hometown Shutdown

“I’m crushed & heartbroken. Been at the venue all day but it’s out of my hands because of the Rogers outage,” the “Blinding Lights” singer announced in a statement.

“Operations and safety are compromised and I tried  my absolute best. This one hurts the most, and we will make this show happen, but unfortunately not tonight. I know how long you’ve been waiting and how hard a lot of you worked to make it to the show and experience this special moment with me. I can’t wait to see you all.”

“The Weeknd was onsite and ready to play but due to the nationwide Rogers network outage,” the company Tweeted. “The Weeknd show planned for this evening at Rogers Centre will be postponed as the venue’s operations & infrastructure are not possible until full service is back. Please hold on to your ticket. Updates on a new date coming soon.”

Rogers isn’t a household name in the States, but the massive company’s outage affected much more than its stadium’s network. Cellphone service, internet, ATMs, and even 911 were all offline for millions of people across the country.

Stranded Fans

Canada has way bigger problems than this one canceled concert, but the tens of thousands of concert attendees only added to the chaos. Several of them traveled cross-country for this show only to be stranded. To make matters worse, the outage disrupted their ability to order a Lyft, pull up confirmations, or even keep in touch with loved ones.

The Weeknd is even attempting to connect with one of his littlest supporters. A boy’s picture went viral after he burst into tears outside Rogers Centre when he heard the bad news. He was even dressed like Abel’s tiny twin in a signature red blazer.

Doomed From The Start

July 8 was The Weeknd’s most recent Toronto tour disappointment, but it definitely wasn’t the first. Unfortunately, this is deja vu for the singer’s hometown supporters. This is the seventh Toronto show he canceled over three years in a row.

Between the pandemic and now Rogers, The Weeknd just couldn’t catch a break. The After Hours Til Dawn tour also lost its Grammy-winning opening act, Doja Cat. Back in May, the “Best Friend” singer unexpectedly announced that she had to cancel all festival dates and pull out of the tour due to tonsil surgery.

Rogers, LiveNation, and the weekend all plan to make this concert happen at a later date. However, that’s not much consolation for fans who missed out for three consecutive years. Maybe the Weeknd needs to take a page out of Erykah Badu’s book and sage the stage before his next Toronto show.