DUSSELDORF, Germany (CelebrityAccess) — Ed Sheeran’s concert in Dusseldorf may be called off after not one, but two venues for the show may have fallen through.
Sheeran was originally due to play the July 22nd show at Essen/Mülheim Airport in Essen, but the presence of a rare nesting bird at the airport led to apparently insurmountable environmental challenges for the show.
According to The Local, Sheeran’s team had initially planned to relocate the nesting pairs of Skylarks that habituate the airport, but those plans were put on hold after another problem, potential unexploded world war II ordinance raised its head.
The Local reported that analysis of aerial photos of the site revealed that as many as 103 unexploded bombs could be located on the site. While the war in question is a historical event for most of us, unexploded bombs are a significant threat in Germany, and in April, an unexploded 1,000-pound bomb was located in the heart of Berlin.
On Monday, in the face of the challenges in Essen, promoter FKP Scorpio said that due to the “uncertainties and concerns about the local bird population” at the airport, the concert would instead be moved to the D.Live open-air park at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf.
But that might not be a solution for the concert either. While the site in Dusseldorf can hold up to 100,00 people, officials have expressed concerns about the evacuation plan for the site given the short notice of the move. Permits for events at the site typically require four to five months lead time, according to German news source RP Online.
Managing Partner of FKP Scorpio, Folkert Koopmans appeared to express frustration with the permitting issues, telling RP, “The conditions on the fair parking lots are ideal. The area can be evacuated from all sides.”
According to Koopmans, the loss of the concert would be a financial blow to the city and could cost the company as much as 5 million Euro.
