I had been fortunate enough to secure tickets to a Radiohead concert – not an easy task considering how quickly their shows sell out and how rarely they take place. A close friend of mine is a devoted fan of Radiohead, so I purchased also an additional ticket as a birthday gift. The band’s tour included only a handful of European cities, and my dream was to attend the concert in Madrid, a city I had never visited. But in the end, however, Ticket Master decided the destination for me: Copenhagen was the closest option to Helsinki, so my tickets were issued for Copenhagen only, not Madrid.

To keep the trip efficient, I booked Finnair flights timed precisely around the concert. My plan was to arrive in Copenhagen four hours before the show and fly back to Helsinki next day on the first morning departure at 6:05. The itinerary was simple: a quick, tightly scheduled concert trip.

The journey began beautifully. I had selected a window seat to capture the take-off and landing, as I often do as you can see in my YouTube channel @indivuetv flight videos. The sunset seen from the plane was very fine. Everything seemed perfectly aligned for a memorable night in Copenhagen. But.

The Radiohead concert got cancelled

Everything changed the moment I landed in Denmark. As soon as I switched off airplane mode at Copenhagen Airport, I was greeted by a series of unhappy messages: the Radiohead concert had been cancelled. Not only for that evening, but also for the following day, due to the singer’s severe throat issues. I was stunned. I had flown to another country for the show, and suddenly the main purpose of the trip was gone!

I had no luggage with me, but my first concerns, however, were practical ones: I was hungry, and my phone battery was running empty. I found a restaurant at the airport where phone charging was possible and ordered a falafel salad with water – a simple meal that cost nearly 26 euros, a reminder of the airport’s steep prices. The official cancellation email from Radiohead arrived much later, long after my friend’s text message and the news outlets had reported it.

With more than twelve hours left until my return flight to Finland, I had to improvise. It was already dark outside, but staying at the airport the entire evening and night felt unbearable. I discovered two cultural options: a Händel concert in some church or a black metal gig on the edge of the city. I chose the latter – my first black metal concert in decades.

Copenhagen metro is too handy

Copenhagen Airport is conveniently connected to the metro system as you can go by metro straight to the airport. And although purchasing tickets took a moment of concentration, I eventually made it to the venue in Stengade well on time. The concert turned out to be surprisingly good, and I was grateful I had brought earplugs – otherwise I would not have survived there. I watched Oak, Ash & Thorn (US), Yoth Iria (GR) and Nailed to Obscurity (DE) perform and after the black metal show, I walked through the quiet Copenhagen streets back to the metro. Trains to the airport ran through the night, the system was clean, and everything operated smoothly.

Returning to the airport after midnight, I found one single hamburger restaurant open, along with a couple of kiosks such as 7-Eleven. One of them had a decent salad bar, and with a salad and a portion of fries I managed to stay awake until 4 a.m. There would have been even packed organic dal available, but I wanted something more fresh, which is why I chose salad. When check-in finally opened at 4, I passed through security into the early-morning limbo of no man’s land.

Early morning flight back to Helsinki

The 6:05 flight back to Helsinki departed slightly ahead of schedule. I slept almost the entire way, just filmed the take-off and landing as part of my usual travel routine. Arriving in Helsinki, I was greeted by a breathtaking sunrise – soft, mystical morning light that made the city look almost otherworldly. An Uber ride through this beautiful scenery helped ease my Radiohead disappointment and tiredness. And then, as if to underline the surreal nature of the trip, a rainbow in the sky was waiting for me at home. I had never seen a rainbow in December before.

The Radiohead concert was later rescheduled for two weeks after the original date. Unfortunately, returning to Copenhagen again so soon was neither financially nor logistically possible for me as I live in Finland. While the concert tickets ought to be refunded to me by Ticketmaster, service fees will be excluded, and the flights are a complete financial loss. No travel insurance covers a situation where the purpose of the trip disappears mid-journey while the travel itself still occurs. Sad but true.

This trip served as a reminder that even the most carefully planned trips can take unexpected turns – and that travel often requires making the best of whatever circumstances arise. This was my worst trip abroad during my 20 years of travel blogging, but luckily the black metal concert was having some amazing drumming and guitars. Still I don’t think I’ll be flying abroad just for a concert anytime soon, if ever again.

Did you also miss Radiohead concert in Copenhagen this week? What are your thoughts about it?

This article is part of my
→ Trip to Europe – Visual Travel Guide

Watch also the best sights in Copenhagen

and my Copenhagen travel videos

Find more ideas in INDIVUE – Helsinki Travel Guide