Chilean Adventure Expensive Experience for Rieu

Chilean Adventure an Expensive Experience for Rieu

The cancelling of two concerts in the Chilean capital of Santiago will costs André Rieu lots of money. According to his son Pierre it is almost certain that the costs will not be covered by insurance.

Santiago/Maastricht: by Rob Cobben - Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra left the South American city, which has been the scene of severe unrest for days, but were only able to leave late Sunday evening. For that, they had to wait for a rented aircraft from the United States. Yesterday, the orchestra landed safely in the capital city of Buenos Aires and there the company had to wait (120 men and women) for a connecting flight to Amsterdam.

IN SHOCK

The Limburg musicians are very shocked by the violence in Santiago. "Everyone thinks it's terrible what happens there," says Rieu. The musicians also regret that they had to disappoint more than 20,000 fans with the cancellation of two concerts in the "Movie star Arena". But there were no other options, reports the violinist who says that the safety of his staff and fans are paramount. "It was a good decision to leave the country. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, we heard from our promoter in Chile that the situation had worsened and that the violence had already reached the street of our hotel." 

For the home front, the last hours of Sunday were very anxious because the internet and telephone networks in Santiago were non-operative. There was no contact for hours with the musicians in South America. In the Chilean capital, riots broke out two weeks ago against announced tariff increase in the public transportation system. On Friday, President Sebastian Pinera instituted a state of emergency for Santiago following severe unrest, in which at least 16 busses went up in flames, stores were looted and several buildings were set on fire. On Saturday, the President suspended the tariff increases, but that remained insignificant. The unrest situation spread on Sunday to other cities in the South and North of the country. In the meantime, at least ten people have died in the riots.

André Rieu would have given four concerts with his orchestra in Chile, but did not get further than two. "On the way from the hotel to the second concert we already saw disturbances in the streets. And after that performance, it soon became clear that things were not going right."

COST

Cancelling the concert tour in Chile is a big loss for André Rieu Productions. The damage for the company is probably in the thousands, but an exact amount cannot yet be given. "That is something for later; we now have focused our attention on getting everyone out of there as quickly as possible," says Rieu. He considers the chances that the insurance will reimburse the expenses to be small. "I don't think that in our insurance policy it states that we are insured against disturbances." 

It is not the first time that Rieu concerts could not take place due to exceptional circumstances. A show in Turkey was cancelled once after a blast near the concert hall took place. And two years ago some concerts in Mexico had to be postponed due to an earthquake there. Rieu hopes to be able to catch up on the concerts in Chile on a date yet to be determined.

Thank You to John for the Translation