Rihanna dead on her feet before cancelling show

The 23-year-old was admitted to hospital on Monday after being struck down with the flu and had to pull out of Wednesday’s concert just 40 minutes before she was due to go on stage.

'She was so ill,' the source told Us Weekly. 'She could barely stand up. She was pushing herself to do the show, but she couldn't do it in the end. [Her doctor] told her it would be stupid to try and do the show, that she would be putting her health at serious risk. Rihanna was close to passing out. It got serious. She couldn't even get up to leave. So she slept in her dressing room until about half an hour after midnight and then they helped her out to the car and back to her hotel.'

Live Nation Sweden spokesman Kristofer Akesson confirmed the pullout was due to fatigue again. 'It was a very difficult decision to make at the last moment, but Rihanna's health was really deteriorating. She was very disappointed and it was a decision we didn't want to make.'