The highly anticipated Ne-Yo live in Sri Lanka concert, organized by Brown Boy Presents, has been postponed, creating issues among sports authorities and some major trade organizations.
In a brief statement via social media, the organisers said the decision was taken due to “unforeseen circumstances and factors beyond their control.” The concert was to take place at the Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium in Colombo on Dec. 28.
The statement further informed that the refund process is being finalised and ticket holders will be informed soon.
Although the statement notes that issued tickets will be valid for the new date, no revised date for the concert has been announced so far.
Reports indicate that some responsible individuals from Brown Boy Presents have fled the country with the large sum of money received from ticket sales.
The founder of Brown Boy Presents is Amith Boteju, while Champike Munasinghe serves as CEO and Director.
The 'about us' page of Brown Boy Presents website is as follows :
This group is also charged with defrauding the Cinnamon Grand Colombo of over Rs. 25 million.
Following is the video report that Leisureplus posted to raise awareness about the concert.
Meanwhile, all tickets, including VIP tickets priced at Rs. 75,000 and minimum tickets starting from Rs. 15,000, were sold exclusively through PickMe Events.
The tickets have reportedly been on sale until yesterday (Dec. 25).
However, the backing from the Sports Minister and stadium authorities to hold the concert at Sugathadasa Stadium, was only received in mid-December.
Authorities had reportedly instructed athletes to stop practicing throwing events for 03 weeks from mid-December, citing turf repairs.
Despite the suspension, media outlets reported photos of a temporary stage being constructed inside the stadium.
The controversy has drawn charges against the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs - Sunil Kumara Gamage, the Chairman of Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority - Commander (Retd) G.N. Ranjith Wimalaratne, PickMe Events officials, and Cinnamon Grand Hotel management.
Organizers had initially paid Rs. 01 million as a deposit to book the venue and had later issued a cheque of Rs. 08 million to cover the full cost.
However, it was reported that the refundable deposit had not been paid at the time of reserving.
Despite this, construction materials and equipment for the temporary stage were brought in, and work had begun even before the full payment was completed.
Meanwhile, the cheque provided by the event organizers was reportedly issued from an account with insufficient funds.
After this was confirmed by the bank, the accounts division of Sugathadasa Stadium had informed the organizers that under stadium financial regulations, all fees must be fully paid before the event can proceed.
The organizers had allegedly made repeated false promises to deposit the amount, raising doubts of a deliberate delay.
As a result, permission for the event was cancelled yesterday (Dec. 25), citing non-payment of fees by Dec. 24, which was the final working day before the event.
Meanwhile, equipment for the temporary stage has also been subsequently removed by the relevant company, noting non-payment by the organizers.
No statements have been issued regarding the cancellation by the Minister of Sports, the Deputy Minister, or the Chairman of Sugathadasa National Sports Complex authority.
Prior to these developments, the concert had been promoted with PickMe, SCOPE Cinema, Emerging Media, Mastercard, and UnionBank listed as sponsors.
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