The production company behind a for-profit concert featuring Jon Bon Jovi has “requested a postponement of the August 22nd concert,” according to an announcement August 17.
“We regret that we have been unable to gain the agreement of the artist’s management at this time regarding the postponement. We remain hopeful that a future date can be confirmed,” the statement from Paper Rain Performances (PRP) said.
No reason was given for the postponement although Vancouver Park Board chair John Coupar told Business in Vancouver in a statement that “it is a fact that as of today, they did not have the required permits.”
He cautioned to be careful not to say that the concert was cancelled over the permit issue and that it will be up to Paper Rain to explain why the concert was cancelled.
A separate statement from the park board's acting general manager, Jonathan Snoek, noted that the park board made “made every effort to assist organizers in meeting our protocols.”
The band's representative, Bon Jovi Tours, then issued a statement to media saying that “unfortunately, the local promoter, Paper Rain Performances, has proven unable to guarantee a properly-produced event … As such, they have not met their contractual obligations.”
Paper Rain’s plan had been to host a 14,000-seat concert at Brockton Point, where the stage would be in front of the parking lot near the Totem Poles.
Attendees were expected to have a clear view of the city of Vancouver as they look beyond the stage.
What was reputed to be the biggest concert in Stanley Park took place in 2012 and included Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, Bryan Adams, Jann Arden, Bill Clinton and others. It attracted approximately 11,000 people.
“This concert is designed to put some more fun back into Vancouver,” said PRP principal Dennis MacDonald said at a news conference to announce the concert on June 12.
He had partnered with others, such as former Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths.
BIV attempted to reach both MacDonald and Griffiths but neither was immediately available for comment.
Griffiths told Business in Vancouver in June that he expected the concert, which has a $2 million budget, to be profitable and lead to a string of concerts around the world.
“We wouldn’t not look to other places in the Lower Mainland and B.C. but I have ideas about Europe,” the 58-year-old said. “Maybe we could go to London or to France.”
Organizers also planned to donate $100,000 from the proceeds to the charity Imagine1Day, which was founded by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson and his wife Shannon Wilson. Imagine1Day builds schools and buys desks and other education necessities in Ethiopia.
Tickets started at $39.95 and ranged up to the extraordinary sum of $595 for one of 180 VIP seats that include access to a fully catered pavilion that has bar service. Griffiths said that 85 per cent of the tickets would be less than $300.
The entire venue will be licensed to serve alcohol thanks to it being catered and new provincial liquor regulations that allow caterers to serve alcohol. Organizers, therefore, did not need to get a special event liquor licence.
Note: This story has been updated since first posted.
