Reports from AP and the Spain news agency EFE say that police cancelled a free show at Mostenses Plaza (apparently a shopping center) when they saw that a thousand fans had already gathered hours before the band was scheduled to perform. Dozens of fans had camped out overnight. Several thousand more arrived over the course of the day were sent home. Four people were taken to the hospital after fainting.

A police spokes person said that the Mostenses Plaza area was not equiped to handle large crowds. They cited security reasons for the cancelation. The event was sponsored by the band's record company and a Spanish department store.

The Florida-based Backstreet Boys have sold hundreds of thousands of records in Canada and Europe over the last year, but their debut album was only released in the states a little over a month ago.

-MTV News Gallery

October 13, 1997