Celine Dion's Beijing show cancelled: media

04/01/2008 9:00 PM, Reuters


Canadian pop superstar Celine Dion's April 13 Beijing concert has been cancelled because the organizers failed to obtain a permit despite selling thousands of tickets, local media reported.

A spokesman for the singer denied media reports on Tuesday that quoted the concert organizer, Emma Ticketmaster, as saying Dion had postponed the concert at the 64,000-seat Workers Stadium due to concern that Beijing's sandstorms could affect her recovery from a recent throat infection.

The spokesman said the real reason for the cancellation was that Emma Ticketmaster "had sold more than 10,000 tickets, having not carried out the approval process," the Beijing Evening News said on Tuesday, citing a statement from the spokesman.

"Celine Dion will solve (the issue) through legal channels," the paper quoted the statement as saying.

Officials at Emma Ticketmaster were not available for comment. Staff contacted at the company's sales hotline said Dion's concert had been "postponed for health reasons," and ticket-holders could get refunds, but no new date had been fixed.

The company's Web site on Wednesday advertised Dion's Beijing concert without attaching a date. Dion would perform her first concert in China in Shanghai on April 11, according to the Web site.

China-based Emma Ticketmaster was involved in a controversy last month after Icelandic singer Bjork played her song, "Declare Independence," and chanted "Tibet! Tibet!" during a concert the company promoted in Shanghai last month.

China's Culture Ministry said it would tighten controls over foreign performers after the Bjork incident, but ministry officials later said it was an isolated case and would not affect foreign artists coming to perform.

Dion would still come to Beijing, the paper said, to participate in a promotional event for the Olympic Games on April 12.

Dion sang the theme song "The Power of the Dream" at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but is best known for "My Heart Will Go On," a song from the movie "Titanic," which was a huge hit in Asia.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Ken Wills)