Concert cancellation due to laryngitis – and then celebration at the Scotland game: Rod Stewart’s World Cup trip causes angry fan reactions on Instagram.
Just a few hours before the concert begins on June 12th in Chula Vista, Rod Stewart’s team announced the cancellation on Instagram. On the advice of his doctor it was not possible for him to be on stage that day. The diagnosis is: acute infection of the upper respiratory tract, which has caused laryngitis – which is usually associated with hoarseness. A little later, less than an hour before the originally scheduled start of the concert, the singer followed up with his own statement: “After the treatment I feel significantly better, but my voice still doesn’t. I am very disappointed and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to my fans.”
With laryngitis while playing football
The 81-year-old’s health does not seem to have been completely weakened: instead of going to the stage in California, he went to Boston for the World Cup over the weekend. As shown on his Instagram account, Stewart flew to the World Cup with his sons to cheer on the Scotland game on June 14. In a video, the singer lists all the World Cups he has attended and finally sings in the choir with his sons: “No Scotland, no party.”
At the Scotland match, the three of them could be seen cheering and celebrating from the stands. Not all fans granted him this pleasure – many found his cheerful party atmosphere on the plane to be tactless. Under the Instagram post, fans wrote that they were disappointed: “It’s hard to accept seeing you partying on a plane with friends, less than 24 hours after thousands of people were sent home disappointed.”
Between understanding and disappointment
On the other side are fans defending Rod Stewart: “There’s obviously a difference between playing a show and singing for 90 minutes and sitting on a private jet to a football game. You can hear there’s something not quite right with his voice, but I guess he could have addressed it.”
For many fans it is understandable if an 81-year-old has to cancel a concert for health reasons. The situation still hits many people like a punch in the stomach – and sometimes causes anger and disappointment. His communication is particularly criticized: in the good-humoured party clips, the concert cancellation and his illness are not mentioned at all. So while Stewart is still celebrating Scotland’s victory, debates about his behavior are rising in the comment columns.