Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour pays $100K to extend Metro hours after DC show delayed
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Beyonce is giving her fans another reason to keep their love for her "on top." The iconic superstar paid for D.C. Metro stations to stay open Sunday night to make sure attendees of her Renaissance World tour got home safely.
According to a news release from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Queen Bey's tour paid $100,000 to keep all 98 metro stations open.
ALSO SEE: BeyHive invades the Linc for Beyoncé's first Renaissance World Tour show in U.S.
Bad weather over D.C. Sunday night delayed the start of the show, and so the Metro extended the last train by an extra hour so that "#BeyHive can stay for the 'party' and still get home on Metro."
The stadium issued a shelter-in-place notice citing lightning in the area before giving fans the all-clear and allowing the show to go on. The delay left fans sweltering in hot and humid conditions as they waited for word on what was happening.
"Due to lightning in the area, we are currently under a shelter-in-place order. Fans outside of gates and in the parking lots are asked to return to their cars," the stadium said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, at 6:40 p.m.
"All fans inside of the stadium are asked to shelter in place under covered concourse areas and ramps until further notice."
The shelter-in-place order was lifted after an almost two-hour wait during which several people were treated for heat exhaustion and one person was hospitalized, CNN affiliate WJLA reported.
The situation inside the stadium was confusing and chaotic, said CNN's Abby Phillip, who was among the fans packing the venue.
"It was very uncomfortable … I mean it was pouring rain for a while and there was lightning in the air, so they didn't want to let to let anyone in and obviously the concert wasn't going to start, but it was really chaotic and I think that was kind of the experience that I and so many other people had … the chaos and the crowd and the rain and the heat," Phillip said.
"It was one of those moments where it was a great concert, but that experience was a little bit scary," Phillip added.
"No one seemed to really know what the plan should be."
Rain hit the area between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, with the heaviest downpours falling between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., CNN meteorologist Rob Shackelford said.
More than 120 million people in the Eastern US are at risk of severe thunderstorms Monday, while heat waves in the South continue their record streaks.
Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour is currently traveling from state to state before heading overseas.
