A Liverpool arena that S Club were performing at last night (October 30) had to be partially evacuated after fans were plunged into darkness.
Attendees were instructed to leave the M&S Bank Arena after a back of house sensor was triggered.
A siren was heard mid-way through the pop band’s song ‘Alive’ at around 9pm GMT and the venue’s house lights didn’t turn on automatically as expected, causing a short delay, and leaving fans in darkness.
According to representatives for the arena, the issue was “resolved quickly” and “we were able to restart the show”.
“Tonight, as S Club were close to finishing their set at the arena, there was a minor incident which triggered a partial evacuation,” a statement by an arena spokesperson read on X.
Tonight, as S Club were close to finishing their set at the arena, there was a minor incident which triggered a partial evacuation. The issue was resolved quickly and we were able to restart the show. We will be launching a full investigation. The safety of the audience, staff…
— M&S Bank Arena Liverpool (@MandSBankArena) October 30, 2023
“The issue was resolved quickly and we were able to restart the show. We will be launching a full investigation. The safety of the audience, staff and performers is always our primary concern.”
S Club’s 25th anniversary tour concert at the M&S Bank Arena had already been rescheduled from October 13 after a fire was said to have knocked out the electrics.
See footage below of the moment that the arena was plunged into darkness.
The moment it all went dark mid way through Alive . Feel like S club in liverpool must be cursed or something #sclub #goodtimestour pic.twitter.com/dJPWYpA38s
— Evann Griffiths (@evann_lfc) October 30, 2023
Some fans were unhappy with what they claimed was poor crowd safety management by staff at the M&S Bank Arena.
One person wrote on X in response to M&S Arena’s statement that they “appreciate[d]” the “efforts to get the show back running” but claimed that it was “absolute shambles getting to fire exit” from second row seating. “Security just stood there, not opening the fire exit or explaining,” they added.
Another person alleged: “My husband works security, I could not believe how poor this was. Security did not even realise the need to evacuate. They held us at doors, with no release. No emergency lights. No words really.”
Elsewhere, another fan wrote on X: “This was handled appallingly. The quietest voice announcement to begin with, an evacuation conducted in darkness, zero communication or decisiveness with some staff advising people wouldn’t be able to get back in. Then when people were, people were allowed back in with no checks.”
Representatives for M&S Bank Arena have issued the following statement to NME: “Last night during the S Club concert a back of house sensor was triggered which led to the arena being appropriately evacuated.
“Our safety systems are comprehensively tested and fully certified and responded appropriately, but for reasons we are yet to fully understand our house lights did not automatically turn on as programmed which meant our manual systems were activated, resulting in a short delay.
“We can confirm that at no point were fire exits blocked, however due to the location of the activation, our stewards directed individuals away from some arena floor fire exits towards others while the source of the activation was investigated.
“Customer security checks were carried out prior to the show and – as customers remained in very close proximity to the arena for a short amount of time, on private land monitored by CCTV and with additional visual checks put in place for re-entry – the decision was made for them to return to the arena so the show could resume. A full check of the arena and systems was carried out in the meantime with the event deemed safe to continue.
“The safety of our customers is our number one priority; however we understand the customer experience was not in line with our high standards on this occasion and for that we are sorry. We wish to thank the band and the audience for their patience and cooperation.
“We are proud that incidents of this nature remain rare over the past 15 years of hosting successful live events.”
The pop group comprising Bradley McIntosh, Rachel Stevens, Jo O’Meara, Tina Barrett and Jon Lee now perform under the name S Club rather than S Club 7 after seventh bandmember Paul Cattermole died earlier this year.
S Club paid tribute to Cattermole during the opening night of their reunion tour earlier this month, describing him as a “brother”.
Find all dates and any remaining tickets here.