Lionel Richie has cancelled his forthcoming UK and European summer tour due to the continuing spread of COVID.

The singer confirmed today all his 2022 ‘Hello’ shows which included the Eden Project, his Isle Of Wight and Cambridge Club Festival headline slots in June have been pulled. He was due to headline the former on the Friday night (June 17) alongside Lewis Capaldi.

Further shows were also set to take place in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Dublin and Belfast.

In a statement, he said: “As COVID and its variants continue to impact the world, I have decided to hold off on my European tour this summer.

“The most important thing to me is the health of my fans, band and crew. I hope you all understand and I hope to see you very soon when we can all gather safely.”

The Isle Of Wight also confirmed in a statement, Richie would not be performing.

Unfortunately, Lionel Richie will no longer be playing at cinch presents the Isle of Wight Festival 2022. Watch this space for more info soon. We can’t wait to see you all this summer! https://t.co/hdeDuPEPWB

— Isle of Wight Fest (@IsleOfWightFest) February 1, 2022

The ‘Hello’ tour was originally set to take place in 2020, before being rescheduled to last summer.

Richie’s cancellation comes after Aerosmith also axed their UK and European summer due to COVID.

The band said in a statement: “We have continued to monitor the ongoing COVID situation, and with the related uncertainty around travel logistics and the continued presence of COVID restrictions and other issues, it has become clear that it will not be possible to go ahead with our summer shows in the region.”

They added: “The health, safety and well-being of our fans is our number one priority. We will be back to rock out with everyone and we hope to have some exciting news to announce soon.”

The shows included three UK dates in London, Manchester and Sheffield.