LONDON – A major music festival in central London, which was set to run for two weeks, has had to cancel its final evening after Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra withdrew from their headline performance on Sunday.
At 77 years old, Lynne was scheduled to perform at The BST Hyde Park festival with his band but had to opt out on Saturday following medical advice due to a “systemic infection.”
Organizers released a statement confirming the festival’s unfortunate cancellation. They assured ticket holders that refunds would be issued and that they would be directly notified by their ticket agencies with more information.
Stevie Wonder will be taking to the London stage on Saturday evening in what will now be the festival’s final event of 2025. This year’s festival, which started on June 27, hosted the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Van Morrison and Neil Young.
U.S. rock band The Doobie Brothers and Steve Winwood were among those slated to perform on Sunday ahead of ELO’s headline performance.
In an earlier statement, BST said Lynne was “heartbroken” to report that he could not perform.
“Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule,” the statement read.
“The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today — and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time,” it added.
It comes after the band, best known for “Mr Blue Sky,” pulled out of a performance at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on July 10.
The band was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan, and first split in 1986. ELO are known for fusing classical music, Beatles-style pop and futuristic rock visuals, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.
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