It was a night that was supposed to be full of good music and fun memories to be made. Instead of dancing the night away and bopping to the music of the Backstreet Boys, and reliving their childhood, concertgoers were met with severe weather storm causing the evening to be cut short. Usually, when bad weather occurs, hardcore fans would carry on but the storm that blew in Saturday night was anything other than harsh.
Prior to the show at the WinStar World Casino Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma, while 150 concertgoers waited patiently in line to get into the outdoor venue, a sudden storm caused a metal structure to collapse injuring at least fourteen injured people. They were treated on the scene and then taken to a local hospital. The harsh winds were estimated to be up to 80mp when it blew over the trusses at the entrance to the venue resulting in the injuries. Before the incident, officials started to evacuate the crowds after noticing lighting within four miles of the casino.
Backstreet Boys eventually canceled the concert whih included fellow late-’90s boy band 98 Degrees. In a Twitter post later that night, the band tweeted out; “We never want to put our fans in harm’s way, and with tonight’s weather and injuries from earlier, we have decided to cancel the show and will attempt to reschedule. The most important thing is for everyone to get home safely and we will see you all very soon!” The tweet can be viewed below.
Saturday night’s show was scheduled to be Backstreet Boys’ final show. The band is set to begin their residency this October at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. There is no word yet as to when the show will be rescheduled.
The WinStar World Casino and Resort made a statement regarding the incident. “We know that fans often suffer through inclement weather for their favorite acts, but this was an unusual event, and our thoughts are with those who were injured during this storm.”
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