Organisers of Primavera Sound have issued a statement after a number of performances were cancelled last night due to severe weather conditions, and both Massive Attack and Oklou have shared updates with fans after the chaotic opening day at the festival.
Yesterday (Thursday June 4) was the opening day of the festival at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, which is scheduled to run until Sunday (June 7).
There was heavy rainfall and strong winds throughout the day, and worsening conditions meant that various areas of the festival site were soon closed, including the Estrella Damm and Revolut stages.
Around 9:30pm, the festival officially announced that Alex G’s set on the Revolut Stage had been cancelled, as had DeMarco’s on the Occident Stage. Then, just before midnight, an Instagram post from the festival revealed that performances from Massive Attack, Bad Gyal and Doja Cat would also not go ahead due to “adverse weather and technical conditions”.
At first it looked like those latter three sets would be taking place later on in the night as some stages reopened, but this did not come together.
Last night, Doja Cat told fans that she was “fully dressed and ready to go to stage” but unable to do so out of safety concerns, and many festivalgoers took to social media to hit out at the organisers for not communicating properly what was happening – meaning they were going back and forth to the site.
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Massive Attack have now shared a statement too, expressing their “devastation” at not being able to perform at the festival as planned.
“We were really excited to play this festival. From the diversity of the bill, the spirit of the region and the breadth of public solidarity with the Palestinian cause, this one was special for us and had been the pinnacle of our summer preparation,” the trip-hop stars wrote on Instagram.
They added that they had “created a new iteration” of their 2026 live show especially for the event, and had “prepared bespoke content and invited special guests to make the occasion as memorable as possible”.
Apologising to fans, Robert Del Naja and co. continued: “No one can control severe weather, we understand that, and the safety of the audience, show staff, the crews and the artists must be paramount.
“We waited for hours, for as long as we possibly could, for any possibility that the performance could go ahead safely. The deep frustration for us as artists is that in the midst of the chaos, we are unable to communicate directly with fans who we know are as upset as we are. We’re sorry it didn’t happen and hope to come back in the future.”
While many of the sets last night were axed due to the weather, some did go ahead earlier in the day – including a performance from Oklou.
Following her time on stage, the French performer shared her gratitude to fans for showing up in “the shittiest weather” and “standing there in the rain” to watch her perform.
She also added that while she always makes “very special” memories when performing in Barcelona, she does hope to see some improvements made to the festival going forward, particularly after the tough conditions her staff were allegedly given to work in.
“Kudos to my team, it’s been a hard day of work,” she wrote. “I hope that the festival can offer better working conditions in the future, because half of the team came back to the bus unfed and soaking wet because of the very chaotic shuffle system and after hours of hard work – could have been avoided!”
Following the tumultuous first day at Primavera, festival organisers have shared a statement apologising to those affected by the set cancellations and explaining why the decisions were made.
They cited that the wind was “reaching up to 80km per hour” and outlined that “the established safety protocol dictates that it is not safe to hold concerts in such strong winds.”
As well as that, they said that “the persistent rain and wind made it impossible for Mac DeMarco’s team to set up on time… leading to the cancellation of his performance as the necessary safety conditions could not be met.”
The statement also highlighted how multiple moves were done to try and reschedule the performances. Massive Attack’s show, for example, tried to be restaged at 12:30am, having been originally scheduled for 9:55pm, and there were also attempts to get Doja Cat to perform on the Revolut stage and Bad Gyal on the Estrella Damm stage.
“Safety concerns arising from the weather conditions meant that it was not possible to guarantee safety for the continuation of performances on either stage, despite all the efforts made,” they continued. They also added that while they “understand and share the frustration and disappointment of the audience”, they needed to “follow the established safety protocols at all times and prioritise the safety of the audience, artists and staff above all else”.
“We thank the audience for their understanding and confirm that, despite the difficulty of the situation, there were no serious incidents,” the statement concluded, adding that those affected will be able to get refunds from Monday June 8.
NME has reached out for further comment.
According to BBC Weather, today’s weather (Friday June 5) is set to be more clement, with a 29 per cent chance of rain in the afternoon, but zero afterwards.
All performances today, including sets from The Cure, PinkPantheress, Addison Rae, Skrillex and JADE, are all set to go ahead as planned, as is the schedule for tomorrow, which will see Gorillaz, The xx, My Bloody Valentine, Little Simz and more play live.