• Overflowing sewage caused by a blockage of fat, grease and rags led to the cancellation of a Bryan Adams concert in Perth.
• The water authority said the blockage couldn’t be easily dislodged, making the venue’s toilets unusable.
• Frontier Touring stated the cancellation was beyond Adams' control, and tickets would be refunded automatically.

Overflowing sewage caused by a “large blockage” of fat, grease and rags forced organisers to cancel a Bryan Adams concert in Australia, citing a threat to the arena’s toilets.

The Canadian singer-songwriter’s Sunday night event fell victim to the sewers of Perth, Western Australia, “due to the risk of sewage backing up within the venue’s toilets”, the state water corporation said.

“Our crews are working to clear the large blockage of fat, grease and rags, which has caused several wastewater overflows at properties,” it said in a statement on the night of the concert.

In an update on Monday, the water authority said the blockage “could not be easily dislodged”, with venue management taking the “incredibly tough decision to cancel the Bryan Adams concert”.

“Contingencies, including the use of sucker trucks, were considered, but the volume of wastewater generated by a capacity crowd of 16,000 people at the Arena was considered too great,” it said.

“We can certainly understand people’s disappointment and frustration.”

Concert promoter Frontier Touring said the cancellation was “bitterly disappointing” but out of Adams' control, and tickets would be refunded automatically.

© Agence France-Presse