Coldplay has announced that lead singer Chris Martin has a serious respiratory illness, and the band will be postponing several of its upcoming shows. In a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday, the band apologized to fans in Brazil, where the next few shows were meant to take place. Martin will need to rest for at least three weeks.
“Hello everyone,” the band’s statement read. “With deep regret, we’ve been forced to postpone our upcoming shows in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo until early 2023. Due to a serious lung infection, Chris has been put under strict doctor’s orders to rest for the next three weeks. We’re working as fast as possible to lock in the new dates and will follow up with more information in the next few days.”
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The band went on to apologize to fans, acknowledging how hard it can be to schedule time for a concert, let alone to reschedule that time later on. Sadly, they assured fans there is no scenario where Martin can perform without negatively impacting his health. The band did not give any further details on his condition, but wrote: “We’re optimistic that Chris will return to good health after the prescribed medical break and look forward to resuming the tour soon.”
In this case, fans at least got some advance warning of the cancellation. Coldplay was meant to perform on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a week of shows from Oct. 15 to Oct. 22 in São Paulo. These shows were meant to kick off the Latin America leg of Coldplay’s world tour.
The band’s website has been updated accordingly, and now shows the tour starting on Oct. 25 in Buenos Aires, Argentina instead. Starting then, all the dates will go on as previously scheduled – assuming Martin recovers as estimated. The schedule has them in Buenos Aires through Nov. 8, at which point they have a break from performing until May. Presumably, they will try to fit in their Brazil concerts during this time.
Coldplay’s tour dates currently extend into late July of 2023, and even the most distant ones are already sold out. They will travel through Europe performing for fans around the world, many of whom are wishing Martin well on social media this week. The singer himself has not commented publicly on his condition.
