A scheduled Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna has been cancelled and the event will be shifted to London next year, organisers said today.
Concerns over whether artists such as Mary J Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole would perform in Vienna had fuelled speculation the gig would be cancelled for lack of interest.
Organiser Georg Kindel blamed negative treatment by the Austrian media for the cancellation and told reporters that the tribute would be held at Wembley Stadium in London in June 2010, to mark the first anniversary of the pop star's death.
"The artists were disrespectfully treated as B-list artists by the media," Mr Kindel said.
Tickets for the Vienna concert will be refunded, he said.
Vienna city council said earlier today it would not support the concert. Organisers had hoped the city would provide up to €600,000 in funding for the event at the capital's Schoenbrunn castle.
"A cancellation is better than something that is bad and that doesn't interest anyone," said Robert Nuernberger, spokesman for the Vienna tourist board.
Organisers had expected artists to reinterpret Jackson's greatest hits including Billie Jean, Thriller and Bad, in front of an audience of 65,000. Tickets had been on sale for €63 to €518. It was not certain how many tickets had been sold.
Tickets for the London concert will start at £44 and the line-up will be announced in December.
Reuters