I won’t treat 160k people differently

For just a couple of hours last night, it looked like 400,000 people were all going to get their wish and go to one of five Garth Brooks concerts. Dublin City Council said it would allow all five performances to go ahead — as long as two were matinees.

However, the singer had other ideas. In his press conference before the statement from Dublin City Council emerged, Brooks was asked about the possibility of matinees and said he did not want to give a “half-assed” show.

Then, despite saying he would “crawl, swim, fly” to Ireland and “drop on my knees and beg” to be allowed to play to the 400,000 people, the singer’s team were quick to pour cold water on the matinee notion. “To treat 160,000 people [in the two matinee shows] differently than all the rest who will be seeing the show the way it was meant and created is wrong.” said his publicist Nancy Seltzer. “He does not understand why, once again, it is put upon him to treat people less than they deserve to be treated.”