Cancelled Jackson tribute 'badly organised'

Published: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:07:46

The cancellation of a planned tribute concert for the late Michael Jackson was due to poor organisation, according to the mayor of Vienna. The Austrian city was to host a star-studded show in memory of the Thriller star on September 26th, but the event was scrapped after organisers failed to attract big-name performers. Mayor Michael Haupl told the Viennese council the show would have been "very interesting... had it been properly prepared and organised but it was not".

Authorities pulled a €600,000 (£550,000) subsidy to the organisers of the tribute concert - led by Jackson's brother Jermaine - when the "top stars" promised were not confirmed. "The advertising value is unlikely to be as high as we had initially expected it to be," said vice mayor Renate Brauner at the time. "We will call off all talks with the organisers."

The event had been billed as a tribute to Michael Jackson, "the man and the humanitarian", while Jermaine Jackson had explained the decision to host the event at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Palace by saying his brother had "loved castles". But organisers were hampered when representatives for stars linked with the event - such as Mary J Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole - said the artists would not be performing at the show and the concert was later scrapped on September 11th. A replacement memorial has been planned for June 2010, in London.

Add our news to your site

Be the first to comment

Add your comments

	Name:
	Email: Your email address will not be published
	Town & Country:
	Your comments:
	Please enter the characters displayed on the image

Articles by month