Olly Murs faced criticism from fans on social media after a user reported that an entire section of their block remained seated during his performance at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday, May 25. The disappointed fan expressed outrage that fellow audience members did not stand and engage with his performance. It comes after he made a triumphant return to the stage following a recent illness that had forced him to shorten his concert in Glasgow the previous week. His unexpected ill-health led fans to question whether the tour would continue as planned, as he cancelled his Manchester and Birmingham performances.
This prompted those with London tickets to frantically attempt to clarify the situation via Twitter/X. One wrote, “Olly Murs management are taking the p**s at the point. Is tonight going ahead or not?!” Another quickly replied, ” I totally agree with you. It’s so unfair to fans.”
These issues appear to have overshadowed the evening for some ticket holders, as a clip showing the audience looking unimpressed while staying firmly in their seats as he performed the song Seasons from his 2014 album, Never Been Better, circulated on TikTok.
One user questioned: “Who goes to a show and sits down, disrespectful much, especially as Olly came back with a bang after his cancelled shows.” Another commented: “It’s happening more and more these days. Frustrates me.”
The former X Factor contestant was only six songs into his set at the OVO Hydro venue in Glasgow on May 22 when he had to call it quits, leaving fans disappointed.
In a social media post on X, Olly wrote: “To everyone in Glasgow last night, I want to start by saying sorry. What happened last night has never happened to me before, and I’m truly gutted and upset about it.
“In 15 years, I’ve never had to leave the stage after 30 minutes into a show, but my voice was failing me. I was panicking and worrying about what to do, which gave me no choice but to address it. The thought of upsetting people and letting you, the fans, down has hit me hard today.”
The 41-year-old added that he had been diagnosed with a respiratory infection and told to rest for 48 hours.
Fan Chloe Banning told BBC Scotland News the majority of fans at the Hydro were sympathetic when Olly walked off, though a minority were angry over the cancellation. She said: “It wasn’t 100% noticeable [he was struggling] as he was still putting on such a good show, but I thought something was a bit off as there were specific lines he wasn’t singing.
“Some people thought he was joking, I thought he was taking 10 minutes and coming back on. But then he left the stage and we realised he wasn’t returning. You could tell he was really upset and kicking himself.”