Iron Maiden react to Colombia riot

Iron Maiden's manager has described reports of the riot before their Colombian gig as "wildly exaggerated".

Local media had claimed more than 100 ticketless people were arrested on Saturday evening, after attempting to gatecrash the heavy metal band's performance at Bogotá's Simon Bolivar Park .

Writing on the group's official website, Rod Smallwood assured fans that "everyone is fine", adding: "The 'riots' were basically a lot of kids trying to break in to see the show and the park has a big perimeter to protect."

Addressing reports that riot police were forced to fire tear gas canisters to maintain order, he said: "There is a large military presence for all concerts in Bogotá as can be seen in our forthcoming movie Flight 666.

"We abhor the inane behaviour of a small minority of people outside. They do Iron Maiden, metal and the real Colombian fans a disservice and sadly just provide a reason for the military to feel they need to be there."

Despite Colombian authorities reportedly reconsidering whether to allow heavy metal bands to tour the region in the future, Smallwood insisted that the group "definitely intended" to return.

"We trust the authorities will not be swayed to banning Maiden and metal because of a minority of troublemakers spoiling it for the huge majority of true Iron Maiden fans."