Adele cancelled Las Vegas residency at the 11th hour ‘after furious row with set designers

Adele cancelled her highly-anticipated Las Vegas residency following a ‘furious row over a swimming pool stunt’ intended for the show. 

The tearful singer postponed a series of shows at Caesars Palace with just 24 hours’ notice on Friday, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a mitigating factor. 

But the decision left thousands of fans in the red, with many having spent as much as $9,000 on tickets and only hearing the news after boarding flights to the United States. 

Not happening: Adele cancelled her highly-anticipated Las Vegas residency following a ‘furious row over a swimming pool stunt’ intended for the show

Pool: Sources claim the star cancelled the residency after a disagreement over set design, principally an onstage pool she was required to perform over (pictured enjoying a dip in 2016)

Sources now claim the British star cancelled the residency after a disagreement over set design, principally an onstage pool she was required to perform over during one of her numbers. 

An insider told The Sun: ‘When she saw the finished design, she refused to take part. Adele described the pool as a ”baggy old pond” and refused, point blank, to stand in the middle of it.

‘The intention was to fill it with water on the set as she was lifted up on a crane-type mechanism, creating the illusion she was floating on water.’

Covid: The tearful singer postponed a series of shows at Caesars Palace shows with just 24 hours’ notice on Friday, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a mitigating factor 

Adele — born in London as Adele Adkins — has been slammed for the 11th-hour postponement of the show, where the top tickets were reaching $30,000 on the black market.

Fans, particularly from Britain and around the United States, had paid thousands more in air fares to get them to Nevada for opening night. Many are now demanding the Rolling in the Deep singer should reimburse them for their travel.

Ticketmaster is urging people to ‘hang on to their tickets’ for new dates predicted to be between April and June – but says they will give refunds if people apply online.

Many have cast doubt on her Covid explanation. Vegas journalist Scott Roeben, who broke the story of her residency, claimed she was insisting on tearing out the sound system at Caesar’s Colosseum theater and installing her own. 

‘Apparently, Adele and her team refused to use the house equipment in The Colosseum,’ said Roeben.

Breaking difficult news: Billboards still promoted Adele’s shows on Thursday, despite the cancellations

‘The theatre has a massive video screen, very high tech, but Adele’s team insisted upon an entirely new system – a larger screen, essentially built a few inches in front of the existing screen.

‘Such demands not only drive up production costs but, at a time when supplies are disrupted, it’s a recipe for disaster – in this case last-minute delays or cancellations.

‘I also hear from a source that Caesars had to replace the cutting edge Meyer sound system and replace it with a different system for her.’

MailOnline has contacted a representative for further comment.  

Two days earlier, the paper reported the residency could be delayed until June or even 2023 due to the singer’s packed calendar.

Reports claim ticket-holders could have to wait months or even a year to see the star perform due to her other commitments such as The Brits and her Hyde Park gigs in July.  

Insiders told The Sun: ‘There are two slots in this year’s calendar, from the end of February to the start of May, and from the middle of June to the middle of September. But if they can’t work then it could be 2023 by the time they’re rescheduled.

‘The rest of the weekend dates in the year are taken up by other acts including Sting and Rod Stewart.  

Anger: Fans were left angry and out of pocket when Adele opted to pull the plug at the 11th hour from the string of concerts that would have netted her £500,000 a show

‘She is expected to still be a part of The Brit Awards next month and she has two headline gigs at Hyde Park on July 1 and 2.

‘Adele’s schedule is mammoth and it makes rescheduling a challenge but she is devoted to her fans and will do everything she can to get them back in the diary quickly.’   

It’s not the first time time reports of on-set clashes have surfaced, with another source telling the paper the shows were destined for trouble due to behind-the-scenes clashes between Adele and acclaimed set designer Esmeralda Devlin – with whom she previously worked on her 2016 world tour.

Trouble ahead: A source said shows were destined for trouble due to behind-the-scenes clashes between Adele and acclaimed set designer Esmeralda Devlin (pictured)

One source claimed: ‘In spite of the set costing millions to put together, Adele was unhappy with the result, and she made her feelings very clear to Esmeralda.

‘She was already nervous and the falling-out sent her spiralling into a panic because she was desperate that everything should be perfect.’

A second source said the dispute came after the production had already been thrown into chaos by ‘endless changes’ to the running order.  

They added: ‘There was no real clarity around what Adele wanted for the show because of the endless changes being made to the production.

‘It seemed that while she has always preferred a stripped-back performance, she was under some pressure to come up with a huge extravaganza.

‘So there was a constant ricochet between those two versions of what the show should be, and it did cause some quite explosive arguments.

Dispute: A second source said the dispute came after the production had already been thrown into chaos by ‘endless changes’ to the running order 

‘Most shows have teething problems of one kind or another, but there has been a feeling for some time that these shows were heading for disaster.

‘It is well known that Adele suffers badly with anxiety when it comes to performing live, so it’s hard to imagine her going ahead if she wasn’t happy.’

It comes after a statement issued by Caesars Palace last week failed to mention Covid, but read: ‘Creating a show of this magnitude is incredibly complex.’  

Adele has made no secret of the fact that she hates touring and suffers from crippling stage fright.

She told one TV interviewer that live performances have her searching for the door: ‘I’m scared of audiences.

‘One show in Amsterdam, I was so nervous I escaped out the fire exit.

‘I’ve thrown up a couple of times. Once in Brussels, I projectile vomited on someone. I just gotta bear it.

‘But I don’t like touring. I have anxiety attacks a lot.’

She spoke of ‘constant panicking on stage, my heart feels like it’s going to explode because I never feel like I’m going to deliver, ever’.

It has also been claimed that Adele was ‘in a panic’ before filming the Audience With show for ITV in October last year.

Stage fright: Adele has made no secret of the fact that she hates touring and suffers from crippling stage fright

Adele once shared: ‘I’ve thrown up a couple of times. Once in Brussels, I projectile vomited on someone’