Green Day explains why they played immediately after acrobat's death

The Green Day has been facing a lot of criticism for playing a show just 25 minutes after an acrobat's death just before their set at a music festival in Spain.

Now, the band has finally issued a statement following the death of Pedro Aunion Monroy at Mad Cool Festival in Spain, the acrobat having fallen 100 feet from a crane shortly before the band took to the stage.

In the statement, the band's leading vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong said that they did not know about the incident and they did not get to know about it until after they had left the stage.

The statement read, "Last night at the Mad Cool festival in Spain there was a horrific accident. An acrobat by the name of Pedro was killed during his performance before Green Day played our show. We are so sad for Pedro and his family and we pray for them in this time of grief."

"Many of you are wondering why we continued to play our show after the accident. Green Day did not hear about the accident until after our show was over. We didn't even know there was an acrobat performance at all. These festivals are huge. There are so many things happening at the same time it's impossible to keep up with every performer/artist. We were in a back stage compound about a half mile away from the main festival stage. We were warming up ready to go at 11:25 p.m.," it added.

In the statement, he also revealed that their tour management was told by local authorities to wait to go on stage, because there was some sort of security issue.

"We were given the ok. The band jumped into vans and drove to the main festival stage. This was to be the last show of our European tour and we were all so excited to play our hearts out one last time. We were on stage at around midnight and played around two and a half hours. Everything seemed normal. the crowd and fans had a good time. We got off stage and drove back to our artist compound."

"It was there when we were told the shocking news about Pedro. All of us were in disbelief. I don't know why the authorities chose not to tell us about the accident before our concert. All we know is what was said after our concert. If we had known prior to our performance we most likely would not have played at all. We are not heartless people," it added.

The statement concluded by saying, "What happened to Pedro is unthinkable. Once again we are heartbroken for his friends and family. and we are also shocked and heartbroken for anyone that had to witness this tragedy. Sincerely. Billie Joe Armstrong."

Pedro Aunion Monroy, 42, had been performing at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid when he fell from a height of around 100 feet. The Spaniard, who appeared to be wearing a harness, was inside a box hanging from a crane.

Aunion died soon after the fall, despite emergency workers' attempts to save his life.