Firefighters in Orlando were called to the Kia Center after the arena was evacuated mid-concert late last month.
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According to local media outlet News 6, the incident happened during Laura Pausini’s tour stop in Orlando. Just as Pausini was wrapping up her show with a performance of Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” attendees began running out of the building.
“In just a moment, it all switched,” one witness, Angel D’Angelo, shared. “And suddenly, we’re all rushing out of the building.”
D’Angelo said his boyfriend even proposed to her during the concert. They even joined Pausini on stage.
“We’re like, “How perfect is this? We just get engaged. One of the most iconic gay artists in the world is about to come out and perform,” D’Angelo said. “And then I look, and I see on the side screen, and it says, ‘Emergency, calmly proceed to the nearest exit.'”
The alarms suddenly began to go off. “Because I didn’t know what was happening and we do live in quite scary times, it could’ve been anything,” D’Angelo continued. “So I wanted to be as far away from the building as possible. I wasn’t sticking around to find out.”
A spokesperson of the Orlando Fire Department confirmed that a smoke alarm had gone off inside the arena. They noted, “Upon investigation, the [crews] found no fire/no hazard.”
The Kia Center also shared on X, “Near the scheduled end of last night’s performance, a fire alarm was activated. “It was determined that there was no threat. We want to thank our guests for their understanding.”
D’Angelo Still Called the Night a Success Despite the Unexpected Arena Incident
Despite the incident in the arena, D’Angelo said the night was still amazing for him and his boyfriend.
“I do think that it would be wonderful if we could get some kind of refund or some kind of credit, especially if Laura was going to be in Florida anytime soon,” he shared. “I would love to actually get to see the whole concert.”
Pausini is currently taking some time off from touring. She’ll resume her tour later this fall in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.