Justin Bieber will perform at his last show at London’s O2 Arena tonight after he experienced breathing difficulties on stage and collapsed backstage last night, say event organizers.
Promoters of the 02 venue posted a message on their official twitter feed this morning, which reads: “Good morning everyone. As things stand Justin Bieber is still set to perform the final night of his shows at The O2 this evening.”
The 19-year-old interrupted his Thursday night show — his third in a four week run at the 02 — after feeling light-headed on stage, representatives for the Canadian pop star said.
The singer rushed off stage to the backstage area where he collapsed. On-site medical staff gave him oxygen to alleviate his shortness of breath. While the star was absent, Jaden smith and Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun explained to the audience why the show had come to a halt . Braun told fans:
“Justin got very light of breath, the whole show he’s been complaining. He’s backstage with the EMTs [emergency medical team] and the doctor.
“They’re telling him they want him to go and see somebody and find out what’s going on with his lungs, he’s just told me that in five minutes, if it’s OK with you guys, he’s going to come out and finish the show.”
“So he might not be jumping around as much and everything else, if you guys will be patient with us, we’re not trying to be disrespectful, we’re not trying to have you guys get home late, we’re truly trying to put on a show for these beautiful people in London… he’s going to come back out here very soon and we’re going to do the best job to finish the show as best we can. Thanks guys for bearing with us. “
Bieber returned to the stage after a 20 minute break to huge applause from the crowd and completed the show. He was taken to a nearby hospital immediately afterwards.
Around 1 am [UK local time], the teen star posted a message to his 35.6 million followers on Twitter, in which he said: “Getting better. thanks for everyone pulling me thru tonight. best fans in the world. figuring out what happened. thanks for the love.”
He then uploaded an Instagram picture of himself from his hospital bed, saying he was listening to Janis Joplin, also posting a picture of the hospital corridor which he captioned as “creepy.”
Bieber’s medical troubles are the latest drama in an eventful week for the teen sensation. He tweeted about having the “worst birthday” of his life on Saturday after he and his friends — which included 14-year-old Jaden Smith — were asked to leave a London nightclub due to the singer’s underage guests.
The havoc continued on Monday after the singer took to the stage two hours late on his opening night at the 02. Furious parents complained that they had to disappoint their young children when they were forced to leave the concert early in order to make transport connections.
Bieber later apologized for the delay blaming ‘technical issues.” However, he disputed the length of the delay — he said it was 40 minutes — later posting a 12-message rant on Twitter accusing UK media of writing “fake stories” about him to sell papers.
In one such message, the beleaguered singer wrote : “Rumors rumors and more rumors. Nothing more nothing less. Might talk about them one day. Right now I’m just gonna be positive. Can’t bring me down.”
In addition to his frustrated messages on Twitter, photographs of the singer wearing a gas mask on two occasions around London have raised concerns about the performer’s emotional state.
Currently in the middle of a 125 date “Believe” world tour, thousands of (mostly) female fans will be hoping Bieber makes it to the 02 stage for his last show tonight.
Do you think Justin Bieber deserves the flak he’s received during the UK leg of his tour, or do you think the singer is under too much pressure?