A tearful Adele has apologised to fans after she was forced to pull her entire Las Vegas residency just 24 hours before opening night.
The British singer was due to play the first of 24 shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday.
Adele shared the news with fans in an emotional video on Instagram on Thursday, blaming the cancelled shows on “delivery delays” and many of her team being struck down with Covid.
“I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” Adele told fans in the video update.
“Half my team have Covid and it’s been impossible to finish the show.”
The Weekends With Adele series was announced last November, with the singer scheduled to perform two shows every weekend until April.
Tickets ranged from $85 (£60) to $685 (£500), and Adele was reportedly set to make more than £500,000 per performance.
The residency would have marked the first time Adele had performed live shows in five years.
The 33-year-old singer said she had been “awake for 30 hours” trying to rescue the production, but had simply “run out of time”.
“It’s been impossible to finish the show,” she added. “I can’t give you what I have right now and I’m gutted.”
Adele also apologised to fans who had already arrived in Las Vegas for the opening weekend.
“I’m sorry, it’s last minute. I’m so upset and I’m really embarrassed and I’m so sorry to everyone that’s travelled again.”
She added: “We’re going to reschedule all the dates, we’re on it right now. And I’m going to finish my show. I want to to get it to where it’s supposed to be [but] we’ve been up against so much and it just ain’t ready.”
The announcement received a mixed response on social media, with many fans agreeing it was the right decision, however others said they would now face losing hundreds of dollars from flight and hotel bookings.
One of those fans, Gillian Rowland-Kain, was already on her flight to Las Vegas from New York for Friday’s opening night show when she found out about the cancellation via social media.
She told the BBC: “I was furious that Adele waited so last minute to make this call. I recognise it’s not a call any artist wants to make but she would’ve known yesterday that the show wouldn’t be ready by tomorrow.
“Her lack of notice is astounding. I’m angry and frustrated.”
Adele was previously forced to cancel the final two dates of her previous tour, at Wembley Stadium in 2017 after damaging her vocal cords.