Belgian rapper Roméo Elvis announced last week that a series of his concerts in France will be cancelled. The musician cited "technical difficulties", leading local media to speculate whether a lack of manpower is to blame.
The cancellation concerns concerts in Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon. However, a concert meant to take place at the Accor Arena in Paris, but which has been postponed three times due to the coronavirus, is still on for November.
Yet RTBF reported that Elvis' team were tightlipped about why the concerts were cancelled and were difficult to reach by both phone and email.
Mystery cancellations
Since last weekend, both Belgian and French press have speculated about the concert cancelations, wondering whether it was supply issues, labour or even poor ticket sales.
Sébastien Chartier, on the board of directors of the Association of Professional Technicians of the Show (ATPS), noted that many live music organisers had packed concerts together, making it difficult for providers to cope. Moreover, a lack of staff after the coronavirus has also been an issue.
In addition, there is the financial impact of rescheduling concerts, reported Jean-Marc Pitance , also an active member of the ATPS: "We have to find a team, we have to rent a truck, a 'tour bus', ... A tour that was well organised with an agreed price now needs to be made up for – often at twice the price."
"But who's will pay for that? It's not the organiser as they have already paid the group. The ticketing is already done, because people have kept their tickets and won't pay again. It's really quite a headache."
