Pearl Jam cancels gig after heat and smoke from French wildfires ‘damaged singer’s voice’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

American rock band Pearl Jam cancelled a gig in Vienna after they said their singer’s throat was left damaged from “heat, dust and smoke” from fires near a previous gig near Paris.

“To all those anticipating a great Pearl Jam show tonight in Vienna, we were too,” the band posted online on Wednesday. “However, due to the extreme circumstances at the last outdoor site outside of Paris (heat, dust and smoke from the fires) our singer Ed Vedder’s throat was left damaged.”

The band had played at Lollapalooza Paris on Sunday and said Mr Vedder saw doctors and had treatment but his vocal cords had not yet recovered.

“This is brutal news and horrible timing... for everyone involved,” the band said. “We are deeply sorry.”

The band said tickets would be refunded. They are next due to play in Prague on Friday, before performing in Amsterdam later this week.

Wildfires have ravaged the continent in recent weeks, fuelled by extreme heatwaves and droughts with tens of thousands of hectares burned in across France, Spain and Portugal.

The Gironde area of France, Extremadura and Galicia in Spain have been hit particularly hard.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 excess deaths have been reported in Spain and Portugal related to heat.

More than 850 people have died in Spain due to the high temperatures between 10 July and 18 July, according to official figures. While the head of Portugal’s health authority told Reuters this week that more than 1,000 excess deaths had been reported between 7-18 July.