Juanes’ Central Park Concert Abruptly Canceled Due to Excessive Crowd, ‘Abundance of Caution’

Juanes’ concert Wednesday at New York’s Central Park was canceled early in the performance due to an enormous overflow crowd and an “abundance of caution,” organizers said.

The Colombian rocker was just two songs into his set at the SummerStage when the concert was abruptly halted; while the SummerStage venue held a sold-out 5,000 fans, more than double that number had congregated on the perimeter of the venue — some of whom reportedly tried to push their way into the open-air space — creating what organizers and the NYPD felt was a security concern and grounds to nix to show.

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“Inside and outside [the venue] we have to be calm, guys,” Juanes (in Spanish) told fans after his second song (via Billboard). “If we are not calm, they are going to stop the concert. Many people were left outside without being able to enter. We want to continue with the show. It’s possible, right?”

Despite the warning, a member of the SummerStage crew then came out on stage to alert fans that the concert — an event that was part of the 2023 Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) — was over. “Thanks for coming out, we’re sorry, we have to ask everyone to please vacate the venue immediately,” the staff member told the incredulous crowd.

In a series of tweets Wednesday, SummerStage organizers explained the decision to cancel the concert. “Tonight, the Juanes show at SummerStage in Central Park drew a capacity crowd of 5000 attendees inside the venue with an estimated overflow of 12K additional fans outside the gates,” they wrote.

“During the performance of his second song, with continued crowds at the gates and out of an abundance of caution, the show was halted and fans were asked to leave the venue.”

Heather Lubov, Executive Director at City Parks Foundation SummerStage, added in a statement, “For the first time in 30 years SummerStage was required to stop a concert in progress for a non-weather related issue. SummerStage, LAMC and Juanes all agreed that the safety of fans and concert goers was of paramount concern and at the request of the NYPD, made the decision to cancel the show.”

Following the cancellation, Juanes posted a video message to fans on social media, “I’m really sad because we couldn’t finish the show, but I wanted to let you know that safety will always be first for us. I hope to see y’all soon. I love you. I hope you can understand that this was from a higher power and was out of our hands.”

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