André Rieu To Move Cape Town PARADE Concert Indoors

André Moved His "Parade" Concert Due To His Virus Infection

Cape Town South Africa

by Marga Ley

The open air concert of André Rieu on the PARADE in Cape Town, will no longer be held there, primarily due to the stresses it will cause him.

Rieu, a Dutchman, became ill about four weeks ago due to a virus in his equilibrium. Initially it was thought that he would shed this virus quickly, but his recovery is slower due to being overworked and his stress situation. The fate of the international DVD which would have been recorded during the performance is now in question.

The PARADE concert will now be replaced by three performances in the Grand Arena in Grand-West, which Sam Hendrikse of Hunta-Live, Rieu's spokesperson in South Africa, announced yesterday. Fans who already have bought tickets for the Parade concerts, can have their monies returned, or they may exchange their ticket for one of the indoor performances.

Ticket holders do not have to worry, they will be contacted directly on Monday according to Hendrikse.

Rieu became ill when he, for the first time in a long time, took a weeks holiday. His son, Pierre Rieu, told the Dutch newspaper "de Telegraaf" that with this rest, the infection grabbed hold of him, and that the best medication was rest, rest, rest ........ obviously something my Dad does not like.

Three concerts in the Netherlands, for which approximately 78,000 tickets were sold, have temporarily been canceled. It was hoped that Rieu would have recovered prior to his tours to England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. His recovery was not satisfactory, and the concerts were canceled on short notice. "My doctors and I are working very hard toward my recovery" said Rieu in an interview with "de Telegraaf." "It is really not wise now for me to force myself." Meanwhile, the entire Rieu company has come to a halt as larger issues have surfaced due to the canceled tours and no monies are coming in" according to Pierre Rieu.

►Note from John: The above is a newspaper article Rianne Meier from South Africa sent Ineke. She scanned the paper and emailed it to Ineke. It is in Afrikaans and I think I can make a go out of it. John ........... SO John is now not only Translating in Dutch and German for us, he's Translating in Afrikaans! :) Thanks John!