You Won't Feel It Coming: The Weeknd's Australian and New Zealand Tour Has Been Cancelled
First, the singer and 'The Idol' star postponed his 2023 gigs indefinitely. Now, tickets are being refunded.
When a musician announces a big Australian and New Zealand leg of their world tour, then postpones just two weeks out, then doesn't set new dates, you can be forgiven for wondering if they'll be making it Down Under at all. In the case of Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye, the answer is no for now. His Aussie and NZ trip has been cancelled for the moment, with ticketholders to receive refunds.
The artist was due to hit the stage across both countries in November and December 2023, but rescheduled at the beginning of November without revealing when he'd arrive instead. Since then, there's been no news until now. If you have a ticket, you'll get your funds back in full automatically via whichever method you used to pay.
"The Weeknd After Hours Til Dawn Tour for Australia and New Zealand is still in process of being rescheduled," says the statement on the Ticketek website, leaving hope that the tour might be announced again in the future.
"Whilst we continue to work through the rescheduling process with the artist, tickets for the existing 2023 tour will be cancelled. All purchased tickets will receive a full refund," the message continues.
Back in November, Australia and Aotearoa was advised that the postponement was "due to unforeseen circumstances", in an announcement credited as a statement from The Weeknd to his fans.
"New dates will be announced next year and current tickets will be valid for the new shows," said the message at the time. "Refunds will be available for those unable to attend the new dates. Deeply disappointed but can't wait to be there with you!" it went on.
The Canadian singer-songwriter and The Idol star was due to play two shows at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, then head to Sydney for three gigs at Accor Stadium. After that, he had four shows locked in for Marvel Stadium in Melbourne — and then it was meant to Eden Park in Auckland's turn.
An arena spectacular, The Weeknd's global tour has notched up soldout shows far and wide when it has been taking place. In the UK, The Weekend saw 160,000 folks head to London Stadium across two nights, smashing the venue's attendance record. And in Milan, he became the first artist to sell out the Ippodromo La Maura for two nights.
Those feats are just the beginning. In Paris, the 'Starboy', 'I Feel It Coming', 'Can't Feel My Face', 'The Hills' and 'Blinding Lights' artist scored Stade de France's biggest sales this year — and in Nice, the 70,000 tickets sold across his two shows are the most in the city's history.
The reason for the whole tour, other than just because, was to celebrate The Weeknd's 2020 record After Hours and its 2022 followup Dawn FM. Obviously, he has been playing tracks from 2013's Kiss Land, 2015's Beauty Behind the Madness and 2016's Starboy as well.
The Weeknd's 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' 2023 — Cancelled Dates:
Monday, November 20–Tuesday, November 21 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Friday, November 24–Saturday, November 25 + Monday, November 27 — Accor Stadium, Sydney
Friday, December 1–Saturday, December 2 + Monday, December 4–Tuesday, December 5 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Friday, December 8–Saturday, December 9 — Eden Park, Auckland
The Weeknd is no longer touring Australia and New Zealand. The shows have been cancelled, with refunds set to be issued — head to the tour ticketing website for more information.
