The fan who rushed on to the stage to hug Justin Bieber during the pop star’s concert in Dubai on Sunday night will not face charges.
Dubai Police said today that they were not investigating the incident which occurred during Bieber’s second show at the Sevens Stadium.
The teenage boy who managed to grab Bieber while he was playing the piano was quickly tackled by a group of security guards who then dragged him off stage.
“A young fan desperate to meet his idol did make his way on stage,” said Thomas Ovesen, chief operating officer of the show’s promoter, Done Events. “He was ejected from the venue by security staff after they determined he was harmless.”
Mr Ovesen said the boy was about 13 or 14 years old.
Sabrina Hoss, 15, saw the event unravel from her front-row position at the concert.
“It happened all of a sudden when the guy sprinted on stage,” she said. “Everybody thought he was a dancer but because I was at Saturday’s concert I knew it wasn’t part of the show.”
Sabrina said she was surprised the fan got past security and that it was a boy rather than a girl.
“Justin looked scared and freaked out. He stopped singing for a couple of seconds and then continued on the side of the stage.”
As the fan was being dragged off stage, Bieber and his band continued with the performance, minus the piano, which tumbled off a platform during the tussle and had become unplayable. “The piano legs were broken so they had to wheel it off,” Sabrina said.
Bieber tweeted today: “Dubai. Nothing stops the show.”
After the concert, Jon M Chu, director of Justin Bieber's Never Say Never 3D concert film, tweeted: "Wow. @justinbieber was the ultimate professional again as he is almost tackled on stage by a fan and keeps performing."
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
