Peter Kay pulls out of live tour

One of Birmingham’s most eagerly anticipated entertainment events has had to be scrapped after comedian Peter Kay’s sudden cancellation of his first live tour for eight years due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.

The comedian was due to kick off the live tour in Birmingham next April, going on to headline an unprecedented 10-night residency at Genting Arena.

Such was the demand for tickets that an additional two nights were due to take place at sister venue, Arena Birmingham.

However, the event has now been cancelled after the comedian issued a statement saying: “Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects. This unfortunately includes my upcoming stand-up tour, Dance For Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments.

“My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.
“I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again I’m very sorry.”

The NEC Group, which owns both Arena Birmingham and Genting Arena, said any customers who had bought show tickets through its Ticket Factory booking service, would automatically receive a refund.

“The team will be working hard to process these within the next 48 hours, however we are advising customers to allow at least an extra five working days for their bank to process this before contacting the Ticket Factory team direct,” it said.

“If customers bought ticket from another ticket agent, we advise they contact their original point of purchase with their order number.”

The Genting Arena dates were: April 22, 23, 27, 28 and May 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7.

The additional dates at Arena Birmingham were May 24 and 25.