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The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Rock legends have been forced to pull the plug on their summer tour – blaming wild weather and growing safety concerns
ROCK 'n' roll veterans scrap their entire US tour over wild weather fears and climate chaos. Fans were left gutted after the band scrapped a string of gigs due to the unpredictable weather conditions, making it too risky to go ahead. 5 The Steve Miller Band have sensationally scrapped their entire 2025 US tour – blaming freak weather and growing safety concerns. The iconic group pulled the plug on all 31 dates, just weeks before the first gig was due to kick off in Bethel, New York, on August 15. The decision marks one of the first major tours to be axed not because of one specific disaster, but due to the growing threat of climate change -fuelled extreme weather across the States. Sources say ticket sales were looking lukewarm, but insiders insist it was the unpredictable conditions and safety concerns that ultimately led to the band calling it a day. The tour had been due to wrap up in Anaheim, California, on November 8, but now it's no-go for fans across the country. The band broke the news in a straight-talking statement — true to form for frontman Steve Miller, 81, whose no-nonsense charm has earned him legions of loyal fans over the decades. The statement reads: "Dear Steve Miller Band fans, You make music with your instincts. You live life by your instincts. Always trust your instincts… "The Steve Miller Band has cancelled all of our upcoming tour dates. "The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So... Steve Miller Band: Canceled 2025 Tour Dates Here are the dates that are no longer going ahead August 15: Bethel, NY, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts August 16: Grantville, PA, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course August 19: Gilford, NH, Bank NH Pavilion August 22: Atlantic City, NJ, Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena August 24: Wantagh, NY, Northwell at Jones Beach Theater August 26: Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center August 28: Saint Paul, MN, Minnesota State Fair August 30: Salamanca, NY, Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino Outdoor Venue August 31: Ledyard, CT, Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino September 17: Lincoln, NE, Pinewood Bowl Theater September 19: Memphis, TN, Radians Amphitheater September 20: Camdenton, MO, Ozarks Amphitheater September 23: Gautier, MS, The Sound Amphitheater September 25: Huntsville, AL, Orion Amphitheater September 26: Champaign, IL, State Farm Center September 27: Gary, IN, Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana October 1: Tuscaloosa, AL, Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater October 4: Estero, FL, Hertz Arena October 5: Hollywood, FL, Hard Rock Live October 7: Tampa, FL, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center October 23: Scottsdale, AZ, The Pool at Talking Stick Resort October 25: Las Vegas, NV, PH Live at Planet Hollywood October 28: Highland, CA, Yaamava Resort & Casino at San Manuel October 30: Saratoga, CA, Mountain Winery November 1: Sparks, NV, Nugget Event Center November 4: San Diego, CA, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park November 6: Inglewood, CA, YouTube Theater November 8: Anaheim, CA, Honda Center There are currently no details available on how and when ticketholders will be able to receive refunds. "You can blame it on the weather… The tour is cancelled. Don't know where, don't know when… We hope to see you all again. "Wishing you all peace, love and happiness. Please take care of each other." The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, best known for iconic hits like The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, Jet Airliner and Take the Money and Run, has been a staple on the touring circuit since the mid-60s. Since being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, Miller has been busy reviving his back catalogue under Universal Music Group. And while he's still got the chops to perform, sources say the extreme weather risks and his advancing years mean this could be the end of the road for future tours. 5 5
The National
30-06-2025
- Business
- The National
UN chief calls for more spending on development aid as US snubs Spanish conference
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to "rev up the engine of development" aid in "a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts". Nations gathered on Monday in Seville for a UN conference were told both by host Spain and senior UN officials to spend more on development aid, but a last-minute US withdrawal from the conference raised doubts about their ability to narrow the gap between rich and poor countries. The withdrawal of the US, previously a major contributor, was not directly addressed by officials, though they acknowledged difficulties in convincing countries to spend more to narrow the $4 trillion annual financing gap to promote development. Opening the conference, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said delegates were gathered "to accelerate investment" faced with the "massive headwinds" buffeting the sector. Those challenges included "a slowing economy; rising trade tensions and decimated aid budgets; a world shaken by inequalities; climate chaos and raging conflicts", he said. Mr Guterres added: "The link between peace and development is clear. Nine of the 10 countries with the lowest Human Development Indicators are currently in a state of conflict." The four-day meeting in southern Spain is taking place as many countries face escalating debt burdens, declining investments, decreasing international aid and increasing trade barriers. The director general of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the introduction of trade tariffs - a policy strongly pushed by US President Donald Trump - would lead to the further contraction of trade forecasts from close to 3 per cent for 2025 to 0.1 per cent. "We currently estimate that global merchandise trade volumes will basically be flat," Ms Okonjo-Iweala said. "I don't think that the conference has ever gathered in such difficult times." Up to $2 trillion are locked up in " harmful subsidies," according to Ms Okonjo-Iweala, including fisheries and fossil fuels that could be used instead to help achieve the badly lagging 2030 Sustainable Developments Goals. "Recognising the political difficulties involved in phasing out subsidies - I know this is not easy," she said. Official development assistance "remains stagnant or declining", UN Under-Secretary General Li Junhua said. "External debt servicing now consumes over 20 per cent of the public revenues in many lower income countries." Risks of tighter financing conditions for developing countries are growing, warned IMF deputy managing director Nigel Clarke. Countries must prioritise strong domestic reforms. "Many countries can boost resources available to them by broadening the tax base and improving compliance," Mr Clarke said. Meanwhile, King of Spain Felipe VI said he hoped the conference would be a success. "The tremendous shifts that we are living through heading towards a new form of geopolitics cannot and must not lead to a total revision of the rule of law or solidarity of human dignity of the world," he said. More than 70 world leaders were expected in Seville, along with several thousand others from international financial institutions, development banks, philanthropic organizations, the private sector and civil society. At its last preparatory meeting on June 17, the US rejected the 38-page outcome document that had been negotiated for months by the UN's 193 member nations and announced its withdrawal from the process and from the Seville conference. Speaking last week, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the US withdrawal from the conference was 'unfortunate,' stressing that 'many of the recommendations you see cannot be pursued without a continuous engagement with the US'. After Seville, "we will engage again with the US and hope that we can make the case that they be part of the success of pulling millions of people out of poverty'. The rest of the countries then approved the document by consensus and sent it to Seville, where it is expected to be adopted by conference participants without changes. It will be known as the Seville Commitment – or Compromiso de Sevilla in Spanish. The document says the leaders and high-level representatives have decided to launch 'an ambitious package of reforms and actions to close the financing gap with urgency,' saying it is now estimated at $4 trillion a year. Among the proposals and actions, it calls for minimum tax revenue of 15 per cent of a country's gross domestic product to increase government resources, a tripling of lending by multilateral development banks, and scaling up private financing by providing incentives for investing in critical areas like infrastructure. It also calls for a number of reforms to help countries deal with rising debt. While the US objected to many actions in the outcome document, American diplomat Jonathan Shrier told the June 17 meeting: 'Our commitment to international cooperation and long-term economic development remains steadfast.'
