THOUSANDS of fans were left disappointed after the Hozier headliner Summer Sessions concert was ‘cancelled last minute’ due to flooding at Chepstow Racecourse.

Many people had already started travelling to Chepstow by the time the announcement was made with some coming from as far as the Netherlands and even Ohio, in the USA.

Mart Postma and his father Sicco travelled over 500 miles from where they live in the Netherlands to attend the concert at Chepstow Racecourse. He purchased the tickets for his dad as a birthday present.

Mr Postma said: “The journey included driving through Belgium and France before getting a ferry to Dover and then driving from there to Chepstow. The journey took over 10 hours in total.

“We travelled around Wales a bit as it was our first time there, we also went to explore Chepstow before the show to get to know the area before the concert.

“When we went back to our bed and breakfast to refresh we got surprised with the news of the cancellation. It was quite devastating.

“We were sitting in confusion deciding what to do then after a little while we decided to just go back home a day early as we had nothing else planned. Now we are back on the ferry on our way home.”

(Image: Mart Postma)

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Sianie Roberts, 42, from Milford Haven, had been travelling for over three and a half hours when she got the notification through on her phone that it had been cancelled.

Miss Roberts said: “Me and my friend Bryony had just stepped off the train and were on the platform at Chepstow train station when we were informed. That was at about midday.

(Image: Sianie Roberts)

“Our bed and breakfast called to let us know if we cancelled now, we would not receive any refund. It cost £95 for the night and we spent over £100 on train tickets.

“We will get refunded for the concert tickets but we will not get the money back for anything else, nobody will!”

Miss Roberts had arranged childcare and time off from work for the occasion. Her and many others have agreed that the decision to cancel the event could have been made much sooner.

She said: “They definitely should have made the decision the night before. After two other massive gigs and weather warnings over the weekend, surely they could have called it?

“One person we met had literally travelled from Ohio. It was really sad seeing so many disappointed people walk around Chepstow.”

Miss Roberts, along with 449 others, was able to attend a last-minute gig at The Fleece in Bristol that was put on by the band Lord Huron – a band that was set to perform before Hozier at the cancelled show.

Ticket holders have been advised that any tickets purchased through Ticketmaster and the Cuffe and Taylor site will be automatically refunded at the original point of purchase.

A statement from the organisers read: “Despite best efforts, rescheduling was not possible at this time due to existing schedule commitments.  We are deeply grateful for your support and sincerely apologise to the incredible Hozier community for the inconvenience and disappointment.

Hozier himself added: “Refunds will be issued automatically by the promoter. There’s nothing I can offer at this time beyond my sincere apologies and gratitude for your support. I hope we can do it again, Chepstow.”