Katy Perry's Belgian Festival Set Canceled Over Severe Weather
Katy Perry's headlining performance at Belgium's Werchter Boutique festival was called off Saturday after officials ordered a government-mandated shutdown over incoming severe weather and crowd safety concerns. Perry said she found out while backstage, already in hair and makeup, with no time left to prepare for any other outcome.
"I was backstage at the show in the middle of hair and makeup when this news was delivered, and they gave me no choice," Perry wrote on Instagram. "I am just as unhappy as you are. Unfortunately, this is beyond my control, but the safety of all 55,000 of you always comes first and foremost."
Pitbull had performed in the slot just before her and ended up being the last act to play before organizers pulled the plug on the rest of the night.
The cancellation stung for a specific reason: Perry hadn't played the festival in 17 years, and had planned to mark the return with a small personal touch, saying that she intended to wear the same outfit she'd worn during her original 2009 set there. "I am sorry I can't change the weather, and even sorrier that all of us can't be together tonight," she wrote. "I was looking forward to being back after 17 years; I was even gonna wear the same outfit from that 2009 show again. I love you all, and please get home safe."
She didn't go into detail about what the weather actually looked like on the ground, but the language from organizers (a government-ordered shutdown) suggests authorities saw enough risk to cut the night short rather than let it play out and reassess later.
The setback comes during an otherwise high-profile month for Perry. Earlier in June, she opened the 2026 World Cup at the tournament's opening match between the United States and Paraguay, performing her song "Wonder" alongside 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka.
She's currently in the middle of a European and UK summer tour that runs through July, with stops at multiple festivals along the way. The Werchter cancellation doesn't appear to have knocked her off schedule. Her next show is set for June 30 at Depot Live in Cardiff, Wales, giving her only a couple of days to regroup before getting back onstage.
Saturday's storms didn't just affect Perry's show as they hit several outdoor events across Europe over the same stretch, forcing more than one festival to make a similar last-minute call rather than risk keeping tens of thousands of people in an open field as conditions worsened.
