US country music star Ella Langley said she had to cancel her sold-out concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday night, due to a “serious security threat”.
The singer made what she called the “incredibly difficult” decision around two hours before the show at the 19,000 seater arena was due to start.
In a post on Instagram, the 27-year-old said the threat involved “the safety of my fans, the venue staff and my team”.
Cpt Richard Meulenberg from Tulsa Police Department said a person had called saying “great harm” would be done at the event with “shots fired and bombs.”
He stated his team had checked the venue at BOK Center several times before the show and “could not find any threat”.
“The event was ready to go,” he added, saying officers with sniffer dogs did a sweep of the arena again after the phone call was made.
“We could not find a credible threat,” he said, stressing that the person who had made the call “disrupted this entire event” for thousands of Langley fans.
The star – who did not give any further details – also apologised to her fans, saying additional information regarding ticket refunds “will be shared as soon as possible”.
BOK Center issued its own statement, saying that “the safety and well-being of everyone involved is our absolute priority, and after careful consideration, we have determined that the show cannot proceed.
“We understand the disappointment this news brings and apologise to fans who planned to attend.”
In September, Langley’s country smash Choosin’ Texas overtook Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You to become the longest-running number one single in US chart history.
Its success helped the singer from Alabama to sweep the Academy of Country Music Awards in May.
By BBC News
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