New Order cancel gig amid weather warning

The band were due to play in Cardiff Bay on Thursday evening

A New Order gig has been cancelled on "health and safety grounds" after a weather warning was issued.

The band were due to play at Alexandra Head, near Cardiff Bay Barrage, on Thursday evening.

Although the Friday weather warning covers north Wales, organisers said the cancellation was due to "extreme weather, including severe winds".

Storm Lilian is expected to bring strong winds between 05:00 and 11:00 BST on Friday.

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the band said: "There will be an official statement in due course regarding tickets.

"We are disappointed to not be performing for you all tonight, but safety of our fans & crew always comes first."

Tim Burgess, lead singer of the Charlatans, one of the support acts, said the band was gutted about the cancellation.

In a post on X, he said : "The weather is absolutely the reason. Setting back all the work that had to start in the early hours - the safety of everyone working has to come first.

"All bands have had representatives involved at every stage."

Burgess later posted a surprise for fans who had travelled for the gig, saying he had left £500 behind the bar at Tiny Rebel in Cardiff.

The weather warning covers Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Anglesey.

The Met Office said, while there was some uncertainty around details, "some very strong winds are likely to develop, with gusts widely in the 50 to 60mph range".

The Bay Series, the organisers behind the event, apologised for the inconvenience and said customers would automatically receive a refund.

Dermot Owens said he was looking forward to tonight as he never seen the band before

Dermot Owens, 54, from Belfast, said he received a message of the cancellation as he got off the train.

"I had VIP tickets too so we'd have been right up in the front too. But we'll get our money back - but such is life.

"I have seen some other guys in Facebook who had sorted flights from America and non-refundable hotel so I feel a lot worse for them.

"They don't play very often, maybe once every two years? I've never seen them before so I was very excited. I'm very disappointed, but life's too short to be angry about these things."