Plug Pulled on Vietnam 'Peace' Concert

Sat Jun 12, 7:53 AM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!

HANOI (Reuters) - An international concert to promote peace and highlight U.N. anti-poverty goals that would have been the biggest musical event ever in Vietnam has been canceled with just 10 days to go, organizers said on Saturday.

Lionel Ritchie, Gloria Gaynor and Peter Yarrow of 1960s group Peter, Paul and Mary were among those set to entertain 45,000 at Vietnam's national stadium on June 22 until organizers said "insurmountable circumstances" had forced them to cancel.

"Obviously this is just terrible," Matt Taylor (news), U.S.-based producer of the World Peace Music Awards, told Reuters. He declined to give the reason but said the cancellation was not linked to the government, which had given its blessing.

The communist government strictly controls media and information and monitors movies and publications. All public events must get a license.

Taylor said the concert may be rescheduled in Vietnam later

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040622/music_nm/leisure_vietnam_concert_dc_3

-- lu cho' thui HANOI (vietnamcongsans@yahoo.com), June 13, 2004

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Last Update: Sunday, June 13, 2004. 8:47am (AEST) Plug pulled on Vietnam peace concert An international concert to promote peace and highlight United Nations anti-poverty goals has been cancelled.

It would have been the biggest musical event ever in Vietnam.

Lionel Ritchie, Gloria Gaynor and Peter Yarrow of 1960s group Peter, Paul and Mary were among those set to entertain 45,000 at Vietnam's national stadium on June 22.

Organisers said 'insurmountable circumstances' had forced them to cancel.

-- Reuters http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1130795.htm

-- lu cho' thui HANOI (vietnamcongsans@yahoo.com), June 13, 2004.