Olivia Dean's big night did not go to plan

Up to 45,000 fans were enjoying a flawless performance from a major star in a revamped venue. Then came the glitch.

They tapped their toes, shuffled their feet and huddled in groups, wrapping their arms around each other to shield from the cold. Two minutes became five, then 10, then 20. Fans passed the time in different ways, three women on my left starting their own dance party with beatboxing, two in front of me sharing a recipe for air fried chicken.

Just as someone nearby said, "I can imagine the Reddit comments already", one of the organisers of the day's event arrived on screen. A monitor and console needed to be reset, explained Campbell Smith, the man behind the revamped Western Springs Bowl that 45,000 of us were standing in. He pleaded for fans to give them five more minutes to fix a "small technical problem".

Those five minutes became 10, then another 20. Down on the field, fans got restless. A group of men on my right scooped white powder up their noses. Others passed the time watching security guards chase a fence jumper across the embankment and into the trees. They gasped as a guard slipped and fell, then cheered as that man was caught and escorted away.

At Olivia Dean’s big night last night, you could feel the weight of expectation. It was a night of firsts, the debut of the new Bowl, which has had a $2.5 million glow-up over the past four months. You can see where the money's gone: grass has grown over the old speedway track, new paving is smooth and stable, gleaming fencing keeps the zones separated, and new VIP boxes offer immaculate views onto the stage.

Then there's Dean, the UK soul-pop singer who has experienced a meteoric rise. Last night was upgraded from a sold out Spark Arena to become her biggest ever headlining show – and as she arrived bang on 9pm, things had almost gone too perfectly. The sun had shone all day. Aside from those wanting donuts, I didn't come across a single unmaneagable queue. The only complaints were a couple of spongey spots in the grass and the occasional security guard gesticulating at fans walking the wrong way.

Things got even better when Dean launched into 'Nice to Each Other'. The 27 year old had a glint in her eye and a spring in her step, and through her opening three songs she oozed old school Hollywood glam and soul-pop cool. Dean knew how big the occasion was, explaining how she'd played to just 900 people at The Powerstation back in February, 2025. "Now there's 45,000 people here," she laughed.

Then Dean said, somewhat prophetically, "This is going to be one of the most memorable gigs I'll ever do." It wasn't much later, around 9.20pm, when the glitch happened. That's when things started to fall apart. Dean fled and staff ran around the stage checking cabling and equipment. A friend messaged to tell me security guards weren't letting anyone sit down on the embankment. Another reported parents with young kids could be seen heading towards the exits.

In a statement, the night's promoter, Handsome Tours, blamed the 40-minute delay on "unforeseen technical issues". “We appreciate the diligent work of Olivia’s team, allowing the show to recommence as quickly as possible," they said.

It's hard to recover momentum when a show's barely gotten going in the first place. To her credit, when Dean finally returned just after 10pm she did her best to pull things back. Perhaps that's because she had a song perfect for that moment. "This song feels very poignant now," declared Dean as she introduced 'Messy,' a song about life being better "when you allow mistakes to happen – just like tonight".

The rest of the night was mostly blemish-free, with Dean and her nine-piece band ripping through the hits everyone had come to scream, squeal and sing along to: 'Dive,' 'Baby Steps,' and the closer, 'Man I Need'. Fans danced in the chilly air, sang their favourite lyrics into each other's faces, cheered the night's star and did their best to remedy what had nearly become an unthinkable situation.

Fans began heading out of the gates at 11.30pm – half an hour past the venue's curfew. There will be meetings, there will be investigations, there may be fines, and there will probably be a fair few angry emails and swear words being exchanged too. It's a crying shame that every single headline is going to be about that 40-minute glitch and not Dean's biggest ever show, because she deserved better than that.