Huge American star cancels Manchester Arena show due to health problems

American musician Donald Glover, who performs under the stage name Childish Gambino, has announced he is cancelling a string of UK tour dates, including a show at Manchester's AO Arena.

Glover said he is axing the remainder of the dates on his Childish Gambino tour after scheduling surgery for an undisclosed "ailment".

The New World tour was set to head to the UK in November, starting at Manchester's AO Arena on Tuesday, November 26, before heading to Glasgow, London, Birmingham and Dublin in Ireland.

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It comes after the musician postponed a number of dates on the North American leg of his tour last month, saying he needed to focus on his "physical health".

In a statement posted to X on Friday, Glover said: "After my show in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to make sure of an ailment that had become apparent. After being assessed, it became clear I would not perform that night, and after more tests, I could not perform the rest of the US tour in the time asked. As of now I have surgery scheduled and need time out to heal."

The 41-year-old did not disclose further details of his health problems but said his path to recovery is "something I need to confront seriously".

Announcing the cancellation of the rest of his tour, he said: "With that said, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the North American tour and the UK and European dates. I want nothing more than to bring this show to the fans and perform. Until then, thanks for love, privacy, and support."

Five-time Grammy winner Glover retired his Childish Gambino stage name in July this year after releasing his final album, Bando Stone & The New World. The tour was set to serve as his final farewell to Childish Gambino.

He released his last album, 3.15.20, in 2020 and was featured on an EP titled Swarm with Ni’Jah and Kirby last year.

His previous tour, which he embarked on in 2018, came after he released his single This is America and the Summer Pack EP, following on from his 2016 album Awaken, My Love!.

Since then, he's wrapped up his hit TV show Atlanta, given a fresh spin to Mr & Mrs Smith with a new Amazon TV series, and worked on a standalone Star Wars film, called Lando.