BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug. 7 (UPI) — Ed Sheeran will take Justin Bieber‘s place at a U.K. music festival after Bieber blamed “an unforeseen issue” for being forced to cancel.
The British artist volunteered to help Fusion Festival organizer Mike Owen by filling in for the Biebs, an act which BBC reports brought Owen to tears.
“I’ve been in this business a long time and it nearly brought me to tears,” he told the outlet. “It was just a moment of sheer excitement.”
The festival supports the Prince’s Trust, an organization that supports young, unemployed citizens to find jobs and succeed in school.
On Tuesday, Bieber announced the initial cancellation via Twitter, writing, “Due to an unforeseen issue I will be unable to perform at the Fusion Festival on August 28th. I support the Prince’s Trust wholeheartedly and I am deeply disappointed I won’t be able to perform.”
Ed Sheeran announced the addition to his X Tour Thursday, tweeting “I know I said Wembley was my last UK show of this tour but my mate had a cancellation on his festival so I’m filling in last minute.”
Bieber promised to make it up to his U.K. fans with “a great show in the near future.” It is unclear what kept him from committing to the festival, which would have been the singer’s first true stage performance since 2013.
