Concertgoers exit The Great Lawn in Central Park after organizers cancel the We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert due to an approaching Hurricane. Photo / AP
Concertgoers exit The Great Lawn in Central Park after organizers cancel the We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert due to an approaching Hurricane. Photo / AP
A superstar-laden Central Park concert meant to celebrate New York City's recovery from the coronavirus was cut short because of severe weather as Hurricane Henri approached.
Officials asked concert-goers to leave the park during Barry Manilow's set amid the threat of lightning. New York City police on Saturday night toldconcertgoers via Twitter to "calmly move to the nearest exits and proceed to areas outside of the park. This is NOT an emergency."
CNN just ended the #WeLoveNYCConcert due to the Hurricane Henri threat approaching
After some confusion over whether the concert might resume, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, "While it's disappointing that tonight's concert had to end early, the safety of everyone in attendance had to come first."
The highly promoted "Homecoming Concert" featured Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli among the performers.
Saturday's event came after a series of hip-hop concerts in the last week at outdoor venues around the city.
The concert kicked off amid worries about the contagious Delta variant of Covid-19.
New York City over the past week has averaged just under 2000 new cases of Covid-19 a day, according to state statistics. That's up from just under 200 cases per day in late June. Only about 54 per cent of all city residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.
Those who attended the concert, the majority of tickets for which were handed out for free, had to show proof of vaccination.
*HEADS UP NYC:* Tonight looks like it will be the biggest rainfall flooding risk from Hurricane Henri. Almost 4” of rainfall at Central Park so far tonight. Flash flooding already occurring in parts of NYC metro. pic.twitter.com/mEgA6MVLcT
