GARTH Brooks will address the issues surrounding his cancelled Croke Park concerts in a press conference this afternoon amid last-minute efforts by the Country singer and Irish officials to save the shows.
Last night, in an open letter to Aiken Promotions, Brooks indicated that he has not given up on the shows going ahead and he is expected to speak about the circumstances surrounding the five Dublin concerts at the press conference, which will be held in Nashville at 5pm (UK time).
Prior to that, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, and the Chief Executive of Dublin City Council, Owen Keegan, are to meet this morning to discuss whether there is any chance that the concerts can still go ahead.
The meeting is believed to be taking place at the request of Taoiseach Enda Kenny,
Last night in a heartfelt letter to concert promoter Peter Aiken, Brooks indicated that he was hopeful that “all five planned concerts could be salvaged” before the ticket refund process begins on Monday.
He added that he was “heartbroken” after Dublin City Council’s decision to only permit licenses to three of the five concerts.
In the letter he said: “I cannot begin to tell you how badly my heart is breaking right now. I hope you understand that to play for 400,000 people would be a dream, but to tell 160,000 of those people that they are not welcome would be a nightmare.
“To do what the city manager suggests (play three shows and not all five) means I agree that that is how people should be treated and I just can't agree with that.
“Our guys are still en route and if there is any chance that the five planned concerts can be salvaged and nobody is being let down then we can proceed as planned until the refunds begin. If you tell me, `Garth, thanks but it's over.' I will cease my efforts and bring our people and gear back to the States.
"If you think for any reason that `the powers that be' can fix this, then I will faithfully go to the last second.”
The press conference will be live-streamed on the musician's website. Brooks is also expected to announce a world tour, ending his retirement.
