University tells of Stones concert bomb threat

University chiefs in Virginia said today a Rolling Stones concert was halted because police received a bomb threat specifically targeting the stage area.

A 45-minute police sweep of the area on Thursday night found nothing unusual and the band completed the show without further incident, University of Virginia spokeswoman Carol Wood said.

The interruption came about eight songs into the show at the university’s 61,000-seat Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. Mick Jagger announced to the audience that authorities had told the band to take a 10-minute break and the musicians immediately left the stage area.

The first 20 rows of fans were also cleared and three bomb-sniffing dogs, already on site, searched the area.

The threat is being investigation by university, local and state police.

The Rolling Stones are touring to promote their latest album, A Bigger Bang.

They were making the first of only two campus stops on their tour, with the second coming today at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.