The Maroon 5 concert scheduled for Saturday, September 9, in Punta Cana, a tourist region located in the northwest of the Dominican Republic, has been canceled due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Irma. Through a statement, the artists of the group and the executives of Live Nation, SD Concerts and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino reported that for security reasons they had to make such a difficult decision.
“Our primary responsibility is to guarantee the safety and well-being of our audience,” explained Saymon Díaz, president of SD Concerts. “We have been observing the atmospheric phenomenon since it began hopes that it would change its trajectory, but all the forecasts indicate otherwise,” lamented Díaz. “That jeopardizes both the technical part of the event, as well as the safety of the band, the public and the production staff,” he added.
In the same press release, the band explained the "difficult decision" to suspend their presentation based on the need to protect their fans, but they also took the opportunity to thank the overwhelming support of their local fans and apologized to all those who were anxious to attend the concert.
"Our fans in the Dominican Republic are among the best in the world," said the artists. "Any opportunity to visit your country we love and although it is not possible to see you for the moment, we hope to return very soon."
Although the structure of the "Maroon V World Tour" stage is ready, it would not withstand the winds of more than 180 mph expected to hit the Caribbean country throughout this week, therefore the production staff is now in need of dismantling it. "Rebuilding a stage of this magnitude in two days is humanly impossible, we would not be ready for Saturday," explained Amable Frometa, production manager for SD Concerts.
"Maroon 5’s schedule is extremely tight and the presentation in the Dominican Republic cannot be carried out within the next few months," explained Díaz. "It has been a unanimous decision of all those involved in the production, including the members of the band," stated Díaz.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, Maroon 5, Live Nation and SDConcerts have notified that ticket holders can obtain refunds starting Monday, September 18th at the SD Concerts offices.
The Weather Channel reports Hurricane Irma "is an extremely dangerous storm." Irma's exact track has yet to be determined, but it's expected to make landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Wednesday. Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos, are also on the storm’s route according to the National Hurricane Center. There’s also a possibility that the force reaches Florida later in the week.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Vieques and Culebra.
A hurricane watch is in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic to the Haiti border, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. Additionally, both a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning have been issued for Guadeloupe, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for Dominica.
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