Devastation struck AR Rahman’s Jai Ho – The Journey Home World Tour in Detroit on June 19th as the stage collapsed during rehearsals, rendering the set unusable. The infrastructure at the Motor City’s Pontiac Silverdome buckled beneath the weight of the lighting rig and the apparatus came crashing down, destroying both stage and set. Miraculously, all members of the crew escaped unharmed.
With the extravagant and spectacular set requiring a full rebuild, the remainder of the North American dates which included LA, Dallas, Houston and Boston have been postponed until further notice.
The European leg of the tour will proceed as planned, kicking off in Amsterdam on July 9th. AR Rahman appears in the UK on the 23rd, 24th and 25th July at Birmingham’s LG Arena, London’s O2 and Wembley Arenas.
AR Rahman has issued the following statement regarding the events:
Dear friends, fans and well-wishers,
As you may know, members of our tour miraculously escaped a big disaster in Detroit this past Saturday, when part of the Pontiac Silver dome infrastructure collapsed on our set. All the artists, singers, musicians, dancers, technicians, (myself included) have been almost given a second life.
We are working to recoup all that has been lost (the lights, the sets) which will take us over three weeks to complete. We had invested heavily in the stage design, lighting, and special effects to bring my fans a really spectacular and memorable show. The vision for the show includes the most beautiful choreography and circus acts and it feels less than complete, not to include them. .All the world over, the show has gotten a very positive response from those who have seen it, which makes it absolutely necessary for us to present a complete show and feature all the components that were lost in the incident.
With that, we have decided to postpone the remaining dates of the North American leg of this tour and will reschedule them at a later date. We will go ahead with the concerts scheduled in Europe and UK. That is the best option we have, considering the circumstances.
While I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our friends in the U.S. and Canada, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise, as we will have the opportunity to perform for you with even more energy and perfection.
Once again, let us all pray that we are alive and thank you in advance for your understanding, love and cooperation.
With deep respect and love,
AR Rahman
