Hong Kong fans of US pop diva Mariah Carey have been left
disappointed after a row between her management and promoters ended
with a planned weekend concert being cancelled.
Carey's manager says a financial default by a promoter, and not
poor ticket sales or demands by the pop star, caused the
cancellation of her weekend show in Hong Kong.
Carey, who recently finished her nationwide "Adventures of Mimi"
tour, was to perform Saturday at an outdoor space in Hong Kong. It
was to be the last stop on the tour after performances in Japan
this week, her manager, Benny Medina, said Thursday.
But in a posting on its Web site, promoter Concerts Asia said
the Hong Kong date was canceled because the 36-year-old singer had
made "specific last-minute demands which we find wholly
unreasonable and not with the best interests of Hong Kong, us and
also the fans."
The promoter also said it had only sold 4,000 tickets, despite a
"substantial" advertising campaign.
However, Medina disputed those claims. He said 8,000 tickets had
been sold, and blamed the cancellation on the tour promoter's
failure to pay Carey money due to her.
"If there were only 10 people in this venue, and this particular
promoter ... had fulfilled his contractual obligations, we would be
there. Mariah Carey loves her fans in Southeast Asia," Medina
said.
(Agencies via Shenzhen Daily November 1, 2006)