Guns 'N Roses extends Tel Aviv show, angers religious fans
The rock band announces they will increase their Tel Aviv concert by one hour, forcing producers to start the concert earlier, before Shabbat officially ends; producers offer observant fans full refunds.
The band announced they would be extending their sold-out Yarkon Park concert in Tel Aviv from two and a half hours to three and a half hours. While secular fans are delighted at the prospect, religious fans of the group are angry.
This is due to a law forbidding performances in Yarkon Park past 11:30pm. As such, to accommodate the additional hour, organizers were forced to begin the show earlier at 8pm, before Shabbat ends.
If the show had begun at the original starting time, Shabbat observant fans would have only missed a small portion of the concert. However, with the new starting time, they will miss a larger portion of the concert.
Currently, only six ticket-holders have requested—and were granted—a full refund from Ticketmaster Israel.
In light of protests from observant fans, the production company has turned to the city in an attempt to secure permission to finish the show at midnight. The producers issued a statement saying, "The band's decision is not subject to discussion with local production. Because the concert must end at 11:30pm in accordance with the law, we have no choice but to start the show at 8pm."
Producers were apologetic and went on to say, "Production is very sorry and apologizes to the Shabbat-observing community and is prepared to offer an immediate full refund without any additional charge."
