Ed Sheeran fans faint at concert as revellers slam venue over 'terrible' conditions
Ed Sheeran fans have fainted in stifling hot conditions at his Melbourne show, with many criticising the venue for its decision to keep the stadium roof closed.
Concert-goers said fans had to be wheeled out of Etihad Stadium during the pop star’s show on Saturday night, with some collapsing before he had even come out on stage.
Ally Meli, from Mentone, was at the show and said she saw seven people being wheeled out of the venue.
"I had called Etihad Stadium myself and was told that there was no air conditioner and that the promoter had chosen to keep the roof closed," Ms Meli told Yahoo7.
Melanee Jardine, from South Morang, had a seat on level three of the venue and said she had a "bird's eye view" of the chaos.
"In the first act they had to stop and get security to help someone who had fainted. Then it just kept happening all show," Ms Jardine told Yahoo7.
"We had a young girl in our row pass out from the heat too.
"It was terrible and unnecessary when they had access to having the roof open."
Temperatures reached highs of 35 degrees in Melbourne on Saturday.
Ambulance Victoria confirmed that a number of people were treated by first aiders at the venue for dehydration. One woman was taken to hospital due to a leg injury.
On social media, furious fans bombarded Etihad Stadium's Facebook page with complaints.
‘7 people have now been wheeled out of the stadium (that I've seen). PLEASE TAKE A HINT AND OPEN THE ROOF!’ one fan wrote.
“Open the roof guys it is ridiculously hot in here. You will have people dropping like flys here [sic]”, another said.
On Twitter, fans also complained of the conditions and the fact bottled water was being sold for $5. Other attendees said security guards were handing out bottles for free to some fans.
An Etihad Stadium spokesperson said the roof was closed at the request of the touring management.
"Patrons health and safety is always our number one priority and we were continually monitoring the situation. The temperatures inside the stadium was not at a level that put Ed’s fans at risk," they said.
"Free water stations were available throughout the venue for fans to continually hydrate throughout the concert and they were encouraged to do so.
"On the stadium floor there was free water being handed out throughout the night to fans."
The British singer will perform two more shows at the venue on Sunday and Monday nights.
He will then take his show to Sydney and Brisbane before going on to New Zealand.
