Katy Perry Nixes Lifetimes Tour Arena Guadalajara Shows Over Unfinished Venue: ‘I Wish I Could Fix This’

Katy Perry is gearing up to launch her global Lifetimes tour in Mexico City on Wednesday night (April 23), but a pair of Guadalajara, Mexico shows originally scheduled for next week have been scotched due to issues with the venue. “Sadly, I learned that the construction of Arena Guadalajara will not be complete for their scheduled shows next week, which includes mine on May 1 and 2,” Perry said in a since-expired Instagram Story.

The singer added that she sent her team to the Arena to look it over see if there was any way to make the shows happen, “but it was evident when they arrived that the venue was not ready or safe to receive my show or an audience,” she said. “I wish I could fix this but it is beyond my control. You guys mean the world to me and we have all been on such a beautiful journey together that I will be thinking about how I can create something special for the fans in Guadalajara in the future.”

In a statement on Instagram, the 20,000-capacity venue owner/promoter, Zignia Live, said that in addition to the Perry shows, upcoming gigs by Carlos Rivera and Intocable [on April 25 and 26, respectively] have also been called off due to a situation that is “out of the control of the artists… We seek to offer you shows with the quality and safety that you deserve, and although we have made our greatest effort together with our contractors and workers, we are not yet completely ready to receive you,” read the statement. “We will soon be ready to offer you the experience you expect and deserve.”

Perry’s first tour in seven years will keep her on the road in North America through May 21 before she hops over to Australia in June and returns to North America for a second run of through Aug. 23, before moving on to South America and Europe in the fall; the outing is currently slated to wrap up with a Dec. 7 gig at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The singer has been posting previews of the stage over the past few days, including a video in which she said she was seeing the stage for the first time, admitting to nerves because the performance space is based on a sketch she did of a lighting sconce she saw at Rock in Rio.

On Tuesday morning (Apr. 222) she also posted an 18-second preview of the space-age production, featuring dancers wearing VR headsets and a robotic bodysuit with a heart-shaped cut-out breast-plate.