The Stadium of Light has apologised to fans over “frustrating” delays at the Take That gig - saying the way crowds entered the stadium “did not meet the standard”.
Music lovers had a party on Wearside last Tuesday (June 9) when Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen delighted around 60,000 fans on their Circus Live tour.
The band - who were playing in Sunderland for the first time in 15 years - performed almost all their top hits alongside trapeze artists, a moving elephant, and balloons galore.
But before the trio took to the stage at 8.30pm, furious fans were left queuing for hours outside the ground that were “as far as the eye could see” for green gate ticket holders.
Matters were made even worse for pitch standing fans when they got inside to be told there were no wristbands left to allow them onto the pitch.
The snaking queues meant that some didn’t even get inside the stadium in time to watch support acts Belinda Carlisle or The Script.
But now, in an email sent to a fan and seen by The Northern Echo, the Stadium of Light has apologised for the chaos.
It said: “We are very sorry to hear about the delays you experienced when entering the venue, and we fully appreciate how frustrating this must have been, particularly given your early arrival and the impact this had on your ability to see the supporting acts.
"We take responsibility for the planning and management of entry operations and are disappointed to hear that, on this occasion, the ingress process did not meet the standard we aim to deliver.
“Your experience is not reflective of what we strive to provide for our customers.
“Please be assured that all feedback is taken seriously, and your comments are being reviewed internally and with our event partners to ensure improvements are made for future events.”
One fan told The Northern Echo last week how she even felt “unsafe” at time due to the carnage and that she might not actually see the band, despite paying £81 per person.
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The 54-year-old said: “It was just absolute chaos. People were very angry and very frustrated.
“The end [of the concert] was chaos too.
“I don’t think they were equipped to deal with it, but they should have been because they have had concerts like this before.
“The big thing was that it ruined the experience. We should have just walked in and enjoyed the atmosphere, enjoyed the support acts and Take That and got home safely.”
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