Tiësto’s Middle East concert scandal

Tiësto’s Middle East concert scandal

13 July, 2007 | 5.51AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: bahrain, middle east, scandal

A riot. A no show DJ. And a promoter arrested at the Saudi Arabian border after being caught fleeing with a suitcase of money. Is this a scene from a James Bond movie? No, it’s a day in the life of DJ Tiesto.

The Dutch trance superstar was at the centre of a dance music war that erupted last Wednesday in the Middle East.

Tiësto was booked to play a concert at the Marina Club in Bahrain on July 4th, but failed to turn up.

“The promoter disappeared after 1am with the DJ fee and the money everybody had paid for their tickets,” claimed Tiësto on his website.

“I still wanted to play at the party, so I was waiting for somebody to pick me up from the hotel and bring me to the venue.

“At 2am, still nobody had arrived and we heard that the police were already on their way to the venue.

“At that moment, I had no other choice than to stay in my hotel room.

“The promoter tried to escape Bahrain, but luckily he got caught near the Saudi Arabian border. He is in jail at this moment.”

However local rag the Gulf Daily News reported that Tiësto failed to show up for his debut Bahrain concert because “allegedly…he refused to recognise Bahraini dinars as a valid currency.”

The local organiser of Tiësto’s concert, Prime Time Entertainment, told the newspaper that the DJ refused to accept dinars but he had already been paid 18,000 euros in advance to cover his private jet expenses.

The 3000 fans waiting at the venue who had paid upwards of $80 each for tickets to the concert were understandably a little upset, and kicked off.

Equipment was broken and fighting broke out – MTV presenter and Dubai-based MC Hanane and local DJ Jackson were attacked by irate fans.

“We also paid him £20,000 and $10,000 on the night and offered the remainder in dinars but he refused it,” event organiser Ayman Al Hamad told the Gulf Daily News.

He refuted the apology on Tiësto’s official website and confirmed that soon legal action would be taken against him.

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