Telford venue under fire from promoter after Peter Andre gig is cancelled
The man behind a cancelled Peter Andre concert today spoke of his disappointment and criticised Telford's top venue after his plans were scuppered.
Event organiser Leigh Elliot said the International Centre in Telford "does not deserve" a performance from the singer.
More than 1,000 people spent between £18 and £25 on tickets for the concert, which would have seen the Mysterious Girl singer supported by former X-Factor and Celebrity Big Brother star Rylan Clark.
Mr Elliot confirmed today neither star would perform at the show, which was due to take place on September 27.
The International Centre and Peter Andre's management team said the show was pulled because of Andre's outstanding contractual issues with the promoter and venue.
But Mr Elliot claimed the cancellation was due to difficulties he had in dealing with staff at the International Centre.
He said: "The problems with the venue have been endless and by being so difficult they have damaged ticket sales.
"It's a shame because there was a lot of interest and I know a lot of people are going to disappointed. I'm the event organiser so I am the one who is going to look the fool but I have found it very difficult to work with the venue."
Mr Elliot said the venue should do more to attract big name stars to Telford, adding: "This event would have put Telford and the venue on the map."
The singer announced the gig on his website in July, only for venue bosses to deny the concert had been confirmed.That led to a string of complaints from upset fans, and bosses at the International Centre responded by fixing the September date.
Andre's website today spoke of the singer's "upset" at the Telford concert being cancelled. It said: "This has got nothing to do with Peter Andre but outstanding contractual issues. Both the venue and Peter's team have done all they can to keep the show on but the situation has now become irretrievable. Peter is personally upset as he was looking forward to performing at this venue and for the Telford public as well."
Fans bombarded online message boards with messages of disappointment. Michelle Sands-Young said: "I am gutted and my boys are too."
Claire Shipman added: "There is going to be a lot of very disappointed fans out there."
Those with tickets should contact their supplier for a refund.
