Janet Jackson cancels gig following Indiana stage collapse

Maroon 5 will still play but in a different local venue

Janet Jackson and Lady Antebellum have both cancelled shows at the Indiana State Fair, following the collapse of a stage at the event which left five people dead.

Jackson had been due to appear tonight (August 17) and Lady Antebellum on Friday. Maroon 5 and Train will still play tomorrow, but the venue has been changed. Profits from the show will go to a remembrance fund, reports BBC News.

The Indiana State Fair reopened 48 hours after the stage collapsed. A storm brought winds of up to 70mph to the site collapsing the stage, before a planned show by Sugarland. The band’s singer Jennifer Nettles said on their website:

There are no words to process a moment of this magnitude and gravity. There are only prayers for peace in the hearts of the bereft, and prayers of thanksgiving for those who were spared or safe. A piece of our heart is left in that grandstand. May God provide peace and healing to the people of Indianapolis.

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A memorial took place on Monday (August 15) to honour the five people who lost their lives.

Conflicting arguments over whether the accident could have been avoided have started to emerge, with some saying extra precautions against severe weather conditions needed to be taken.

Mike Smith, senior vice president of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, said “It was quite foreseeable. The State Fair should have had someone making a call that if a weather warning was issued, the area would have been evacuated immediately.” The Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, had called the incident a “fluke”.

As well as the five who lost their lives, 48 people were hospitalised in the incident.

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