Fans left gutted as Drake ends his Wireless set after just 40 minutes on stage

Fans of Canadian rapping sensation Drake have been left distraught after Sunday's headline performance at London's Wireless Festival fell short of expectations, coming to a close after just 40 minutes on stage.

The evening schedule took many fans by surprise as Drake rushed to the stage 10 minutes before his set was supposed to take place, getting the crowd excited by promising he'd keep performing “until they cut my mic” referring to the festival's 9.30pm curfew. But punters on Sunday night drew the short straw, with the previous day's event lasting 90 minutes as the rapper unveiled a whopping 13 surprise guests, while his opening show also revealed six.

Viewers on Friday got to witness the strict cut-off time first-hand, with the festival cutting off his and Lauryn Hill's microphones early with notices instead being displayed asking people to make their way home.

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With Sunday curfew even earlier,Drake seemed to try his best to cram all of the fan's favourites into his small slot, seeming apologetic as he ticked off some big hits including Controlla, Find Your Love and One Dance. As he rushed from song to song, he told the crowd: "London, I will love you for the rest of my life".

His mood seemed slightly more agitated than his previous two gigs as he kicked off the concert by playing an unreleased collaboration with rapper Central Cee who could be seen singing along in the front row.

Despite the 40-minute slot, he still managed to bring a few special guests out including Nigerian rapper Rema and Jamaican artist Vybz Kartel who had performed to a packed crowd just hours earlier. However, once the collaborations were over he had time for just two last solo songs.

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The rapper still managed to squeeze in his closing spectacle in the same fashion as the other two nights, climbing onto a crane to be lifted into the air to wave goodbye to the crowd as Whitney Houston played in the background.

It's not quite understood why Drake was set to come out with just 45 minutes left of the festival, as that wasn't always the plan. Earlier in the day, it appeared Drake would play two sets one at 6.25pm and the same set again at 8.55pm, but a seemingly last-minute schedule change altered the plan.

Posting on Instagram after the gig, Drake said: "Thank you London. Need some time to process what just happened so I don’t have my usual caption… just thank you so much for the best 3 nights of my performance career."

Taking to X some fans have voiced their anger at his strict curfew, one fan posted: "This is why the UK nightlife and festival scene will never compete with other countries, the strict licensing laws have destroyed it all."

While another added: "Wireless definitely wasn’t worth the money if you only went on Sunday in my opinion. Drake barely performed as his set was cut short and when he did perform it was these house music remixes we didn’t ask for."