A London music festival cancels its final night after ELO's Jeff Lynne pulls out
Lynne, 77, who was billed to play alongside his band Sunday at the The BST Hyde Park festival, withdrew on Saturday on the advice of doctors as a result of what was termed a 'systemic infection."
In a statement, the festival organizers said the event will 'sadly be cancelled' and that ticket holders will be refunded and contacted directly by their ticket agent with further details.
Stevie Wonder will be taking to the London stage on Saturday evening in what will now be the festival's final event of 2025. This year's festival, which started on June 27, hosted the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Van Morrison and Neil Young.
U.S. rock band The Doobie Brothers and Steve Winwood were among those slated to perform on Sunday ahead of ELO's headline performance.
In an earlier statement, BST said Lynne was 'heartbroken' to report that he could not perform.
'Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule," the statement read.
'The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff's mind today — and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time," it added.
It comes after the band, best known for 'Mr Blue Sky,' pulled out of a performance at Manchester's Co-Op Live on July 10.
The band was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan, and first split in 1986. ELO are known for fusing classical music, Beatles-style pop and futuristic rock visuals, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
24 minutes ago
- Eater
How to Spend a 24-Hour Staycation in Chinatown Las Vegas
Las Vegas's Chinatown rivals the Strip with its vibrant, around-the-clock dining scene. Centered along Spring Mountain Road just minutes west of the Strip, this neighborhood draws locals, industry workers, and food enthusiasts seeking diverse cuisines, most prominently from East Asia. Chinatown is packed with everything from casual noodle shops and street food stalls to upscale izakayas and innovative fusion spots. It's where many of Vegas's top chefs craft bold menus that may otherwise be too adventurous for Strip visitors, blending tradition with creativity without the crowds or high prices. During an action-packed one-day staycation, come hungry, starting with strong coffee, then venturing to decadent breakfast, afternoon dumplings, and late-night noodles. Spring Mountain Road delivers at almost every hour. With its accessibility, diversity, and unmistakable local energy, Chinatown is a must-visit destination to experience the true culinary heart of Las Vegas. Here's how to spend 24 hours drinking and dining through Las Vegas's Chinatown. 8 a.m. — Coffee at Gabi Coffee and Bakery Start your all-day food crawl with a caffeine fix at this locals' favorite Korean coffee shop. Hidden behind a heavy wooden door in an otherwise basic strip mall, Gabi Coffee opens into a cavernous, dreamlike ambience with antique furniture, tiered platforms for sitting on floor cushions at low tables, and a glass atrium that doubles as Gabi Cafe's bakery. Order colorful wedges of crepe cake dusted with powdered sugar, flaky chocolate croissants, and bacon potato quiche. Korean-style medium-roast coffee is aromatic and full-bodied with a lightly acidic flavor that works well in cappuccinos and lavender white mochas. Gabi Coffee and Bakery 9 a.m. — Breakfast at Guieb Cafe This Hawaii-based restaurant draws on Filipino flavors for bold, comforting breakfasts is a casual space adorned with surfer murals. The standout is a stack of purple pancakes slathered with creamy ube mascarpone and garnished with a purple orchid blossom. For those recovering from a late night, go for the prime rib loco moco: a juicy 10-ounce steak served over white rice, smothered in glossy, umami-heavy gravy, and finished with two fried eggs. If saving room for the rest of the food crawl, consider the oxtail soup — flavor-packed and herbaceous, it's loaded with tender meat and swirls of fresh cilantro. 12:30 p.m. — Lunch at Shanghai Taste Chef Jimmy Li of Shanghai Taste earned a James Beard Award nod for Best Chef: Southwest in 2023 — primarily for his delicately wrapped xiao long bao. The restaurant cranks out about 3,000 soup dumplings a day, each sporting savory broth and juicy pork suspended within tender, pleated satchels. The rest of the menu is like a love letter to Shanhainese street food — each dish deftly prepared and most under $15. Bean curd noodles in shrimp XO sauce have a rich chile flavor. Shanghai crispy shrimp is cooked with the shells on for extra crunch, and a beef stir fry is robust with bell peppers, onions, and oyster mushrooms in black pepper sauce. Mark down orders on paper menus and don't miss out on fried sheng jian bao, crispy scallion pancakes, and sticky-sweet pork ribs that fall off the bone. 3 p.m. — Happy Hour at Double Zero Pie and Pub One of the best pizzaiolos in Las Vegas is earning national attention at this Chinatown strip mall spot. Chef Michael Vakneen's dough starts with finely milled double-zero flour, fermented slowly with natural starters, then hand-stretched to preserve its structure. The result is a crust that's light, airy, and crisp, yet sturdy enough to carry bold toppings without turning soggy. Happy hour starts at 3 p.m. with snacks and drinks for $5 — but don't skip the full-sized pies. There's a white-sauce version with browned mushrooms and mozzarella that's earthy and creamy, or a sweet-savory standout topped with speck, fig jam, mozzarella, and candied pecans. Janna Karel 6 p.m. — Dinner at Sparrow and Wolf Chef Brian Howard cut his teeth in acclaimed kitchens like Comme Ça, Alizé, and Bouchon before opening Sparrow and Wolf, his genre-defying Chinatown flagship that blends fine-dining precision with fearless, globally inspired flavors. His seasonal tasting menus jump through the continents with ease, while a la carte options offer a more casual way to explore his boundary-pushing cooking. Standouts include Vietnamese bánh cuốn stuffed with savory duck and wrapped in black rice rolls, Spanish octopus over jet-black squid ink risotto, and honey-glazed pork secreto paired with sweet potato-banana purée. Howard's food is ambitious but unfussy — each dish layered with texture and contrast, without losing its soul. Let the kitchen lead with the tasting menu. Janna Karel 9 p.m. — Cocktails at the Golden Tiki The Golden Tiki is a 24-hour tropical escape, a celebration of maximalism, like Disneyland through an adults-only filter. If you survive the brutal parking lot, step through the dark passageway in the glow of animatronic birds, a twinkling Rainforest Cafe-style night sky, and a life-sized mermaid in glass that looks just real enough to call for a double-take. Bartender Adam Rains slings some of the best tiki drinks in town — classics like painkillers and banana batidas shine here. Plan in advance to reserve a table or just belly up to the bar. With drinks in hand, take a lap to admire the decor — dazzling waterfalls, head-scratching island artifacts, old-timey nudes tucked beneath glass table tops, and lewd wallpaper in the restrooms. The Golden Tiki 11 p.m. — Dessert at Ichiza Perched on the second floor of a shopping center, this izakaya is a Chinatown institution. The menu is scrawled on handwritten paper signs plastered onto every inch of wall space, offering a rotating lineup of specials, nigiri, and skewers that are available that week. But by 11 p.m., the mission is to order the honey toast. The cube of warm, buttery Japanese milk bread is crisped on the edges, filled with diced bites that are toasted to golden brown. It arrives piled high with scoops of vanilla ice cream and honey drizzle that melt into the cracks, glazing every bite with sticky-sweet cream and turning the whole thing into a gooey, golden mess. Wash it down with sparkling peach sake. A late-night bowl of pho at Pho Kim Long is a Las Vegas rite of passage. This Chinatown favorite may not serve the absolute best pho in town, but at 2 a.m., it's the one that matters most. Inside, the lights are bright, the tables are packed, and the crowd is a blur of off-shift chefs, bar hoppers, and industry regulars trickling in from the Strip for something hot and restorative. Start with crunchy chicken egg rolls for the table, then dive into a steaming bowl of beef pho — its deeply aromatic broth tangled with tender rice noodles, rare steak, and brisket. Dress it up with jalapeños, bean sprouts, and torn basil, then slurp it until bleary-eyed. The vibes in Pho Kim Long during the wee hours are like a sleepover party that's gone on too long — over-tired and buzzing, but mostly quietly content. Eater Vegas All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Eater
2 hours ago
- Eater
The Latest D.C.-Area Restaurant Closures in July
This is a curated list of D.C. area's newly announced restaurant and bar closures, with new updates published every month. See a closing we missed? Drop us a line. Bethesda, Maryland: Gluten-free and vegan bakery Josephine GF will close on Thursday, July 31. Per an announcement on social media, the team opted to not renew its lease after nearly three years in the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood. Over its short run, Josephine GF says it served 'thousands of customers' from Miami to New York City, L.A. to Alaska, who are celiac (and not). The gluten-free and vegan cafe is best known for its sweet-and-savory waffles, along with bread loaves, cookies, brownies, and baguette sandwiches. The team, which is actively looking for a new space, is also open to options like franchising or commercializing its proprietary gluten-free flour mixes. 4927A St. Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland Columbia Heights: Promising Mexican restaurant (and once-Eater 38 spot) Cinco Soles held a farewell party on Monday, July 14, ahead of its impending closure after a short, two-year run. Salvadoran chef-owner Mauricio Arias turned his former Italian eatery Ossobuco into the color-soaked destination for vibrant ceviches, al pastor tacos, mahi mahi tostadas, churros, bright salads, and spicy margaritas. A bar splashed with 'Soup of the Day: Tequila' neon signage sent out a 'Naked in Tulum' with Aperol, mezcal, and passionfruit. Arias will continue to run El Rinconcito Café and Tortino in Shaw. 3418 11th Street NW Cathedral Heights: Italian newcomer Talea Ristorante suddenly shut down this month after just a year in business. The team behind Georgetown's popular Flavio brought pillowy ricotta gnocchi, branzino, lobster diavolo, and other familiar favorites to the upper Northwest neighborhood last June. Located in the former Cafe Deluxe space, the sleek setup with a green-lined patio out front featured mod prints of a spaghetti-twirling Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren. A last-minute liquidation sale was posted online last week. 3228 Wisconsin Avenue NW Chinatown: Full Kee, D.C.'s 40-year-old staple for Hong Kong-style soups, lo mein, and lunch specials, was forced to vacate on Tuesday, July 1, in order to make way for a new high-end commercial building. The Gallery Place-Chinatown Task Force, created to preserve the neighborhood's character and its legacy Asian restaurants, condemned the cause of the closure. 'When establishments like Full Kee, so core to the story of a place, are forced to close – the damage is immeasurable,' per a statement. 'If city government wishes to subsidize or otherwise support luxury development, they MUST take concrete actions to protect small businesses.' 509 H Street NW Woodbridge, Virginia: After a nearly decade-long run, Brew Republic Bierwerks will serve its last beer on Sunday, July 27. 'Our landlord is forcing us out,' alleges Brew Republic in a Facebook post. 'Given the high costs of relocating and the distressed nature of the brewery and restaurant industries, we've decided that it's best to shut down and close.' Along with its award-winning ales and lagers brewed on-site, the South Beach-styled space hosted comedy, trivia, and live entertainment throughout the week. Brew Republic, co-founded by former state Del. Jeffrey Frederick (R-Woodbridge), offered its 'beer commission' members bigger glasses of beer and discounts on growler refills. A weekend closing party (July 25-27) calls for karaoke and bands from over the years. Kimco Realty bought Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in 2023. 15201 Potomac Town Place, Woodbridge, Virginia Eater DC All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fire engulfs main stage of Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival ahead of Friday start
BRUSSELS (AP) — A huge fire on Wednesday at Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival site has 'severely damaged' the main stage two days before the event was due to start, organizers said. No one was injured in the incident. Images shared on local news sites and social media showed flames and plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland. The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, which is scheduled to start Friday, draws tens of thousands of visitors from around Europe. ''Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged,'' the organizers posted on the event's website. ''We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident.'' The statement said the focus is now on 'finding solutions' for the festival weekend. The cause of the fire was not given.
