Severe Weather Spoils Black Eyed Peas’ Charity Concert In NYC

The Concert 4 NYC, a charity event that was to be headlined by the Black Eyed Peas with rumored guest appearances by Taylor Swift and Natasha Bedingfield among others, was rained out Thursday night. Officials anticipated a crowd of 60,000 on the Central Park’s Great Lawn, but storms delayed the gate opening by more than an hour. Fans were eventually let in, but organizers soon canceled the show due to continued lightning. Police had to usher concert goers, some of whom had waited for hours in 90-degree heat, off the lawn.

The Concert 4 NYC was hosted by the Robin Hood Foundation, an organization that raises and directs funds to programs that have proven to be effective in fighting poverty. 50,000 free tickets were distributed by the Foundation, while 6,000 VIP tickets were given out for a donation of $500.

Peas’ singer Fergie, pictured, enlisted the rapper Taboo, who was to perform, to convey her apologies to the fans via his Twitter feed, according to Fox 23 news in New York. Will.i.am tweeted a picture of the stage with the message, “That was supposed to be our stage… 🙁 so sad.” The band did what it could to make up for the cancelation by entertaining event workers backstage with an impromptu performance. But after hours of waiting in the heat and the rain, fans went home disappointed.

The concert could have been a great way for the Black Eyed Peas to gain some positive PR after a panned halftime performance at the Super Bowl earlier this year. However, the decision to cancel was not the band’s, and the Robin Hood Foundation has announced that they are exploring options for rescheduling the benefit.

Watch the backstage performance here