Usher Finally Gets To Ahoy

Illness prevented Usher from playing the reopening of a refurbished Rotterdam Ahoy Jan. 14, but rescheduling to March 1 meant he was still the first international act to play the Dutch venue since its refit.

The first shows in the venue were The Friends of Amstel Live, a bill of Dutch acts that sold out seven nights, and the first sporting event was the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, which attracted 109,000 visitors.

The Usher show was sold out weeks in advance and eventually coincided with the opening of Club Ahoy, a smaller configuration of the 15,000-capacity arena specially designed for crowds of up to 6,000.

It will stage concerts, comedy and theatre shows, and is also suitable for hosting congresses for up to 5,000 people.

March shows at the new Ahoy include visits from Ne-Yo, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Enrique Iglesias.