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| Little Mix: Last minute cancellation of Belfast gig | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The band Little Mix have been forced to cancel their Belfast gigs after Jesy Nelson became unwell. | The band Little Mix have been forced to cancel their Belfast gigs after Jesy Nelson became unwell. |
| The girl band were due to play a matinee and evening show at the SSE Arena on Thursday. | The girl band were due to play a matinee and evening show at the SSE Arena on Thursday. |
| The cancellation announcement came just minutes after the doors opened for the afternoon performance. | The cancellation announcement came just minutes after the doors opened for the afternoon performance. |
| Michael Green was in Belfast for the concert with his daughters, aged five and six. | |
| He said the family had been among fans who were disappointed when One Direction re-scheduled their Belfast concert last October. | |
| He told the BBC he felt "physically gutted and a little bit sick" when he was told the kids were to be let down again. | |
| "I thought this couldn't happen again, what are the chances?" | |
| Michael had surprised his daughters with the tickets on Christmas morning and travelled from Coleraine to see the girl band. | |
| He said he was worried the band would re-schedule for an afternoon when the children were back at school. | |
| "I'm really, really annoyed. Once again they've waited until we got here to tell us it was cancelled." | |
| Mother Geraldine McLaughlin had brought her 16-year-old stepdaughter, Stacey, to the concert for her birthday. | |
| She said the 16-year-old's birthday had been ruined by the news. | She said the 16-year-old's birthday had been ruined by the news. |
| "We came down to Belfast and booked into the Ramada to make a day of it," she said. | "We came down to Belfast and booked into the Ramada to make a day of it," she said. |
| "Stacey was so excited about this, I don't know what we'll do for the rest of the day. | "Stacey was so excited about this, I don't know what we'll do for the rest of the day. |
| "We're just going to go back to the hotel now to get away from this chaos." | "We're just going to go back to the hotel now to get away from this chaos." |
| Thousands of young people were gathered at the SSE Arena at lunchtime on Thursday when the announcement was made via speakerphone. | Thousands of young people were gathered at the SSE Arena at lunchtime on Thursday when the announcement was made via speakerphone. |
| Ms McLaughlin said many of them were in tears. | Ms McLaughlin said many of them were in tears. |
| "It's not been handled very well," she said. "There's absolute bedlam down here now. | "It's not been handled very well," she said. "There's absolute bedlam down here now. |
| "Surely they could have informed us before we all landed at the place? This was minutes before the show was due to begin." | "Surely they could have informed us before we all landed at the place? This was minutes before the show was due to begin." |
| A statement from gig promoter Aikens said: "We regret to announce that both Little Mix shows at the SSE Arena will not take place today due to Jesy being unwell and not able to perform. | A statement from gig promoter Aikens said: "We regret to announce that both Little Mix shows at the SSE Arena will not take place today due to Jesy being unwell and not able to perform. |
| "Please hold on to your tickets - we hope to be able to make a further announcement on possible rescheduling later today." | "Please hold on to your tickets - we hope to be able to make a further announcement on possible rescheduling later today." |
| Ms McLaughlin pointed out that if the concert is rescheduled for next week, children will be back at school. | Ms McLaughlin pointed out that if the concert is rescheduled for next week, children will be back at school. |
| "You can't just take a day off school and time off work for a concert," she said. | "You can't just take a day off school and time off work for a concert," she said. |
| It is the second major cancellation to disappoint young music fans in the city in recent times. | It is the second major cancellation to disappoint young music fans in the city in recent times. |
| Last October, One Direction called off a gig at the SSE at late notice after singer Liam Payne became ill. | Last October, One Direction called off a gig at the SSE at late notice after singer Liam Payne became ill. |