Bpoplive has been cancelled, after Electoral Commission demands information from Leave.EU on “campaign spending”
The Capitalist's plans for Sunday night have been ruined.
It may have seemed doomed from the start, but until this week Leave.EU was gearing up for a night of dancing and debate at anti-EU concert Bpoplive on Sunday.
Now, Leave.EU, which distanced itself from the rally after acts began to pull out in droves, has announced that Bpoplive has been cancelled.
"It is with great regret that I have to announce that BpopLive, has been shut down by the Electoral Commission," said event co-ordinator and Leave.EU's "media guru" Andy Wigmore.
Leave.EU claims that Bpoplive, which saw acts like singers Ella Eyre and Alesha Dixon, drum and bass duo Sigma, soul group Sister Sledge and boybands Five and East 17 pull out of the gig after they found out who was bankrolling them, was "banned" by the Electoral Commission.
In a statement seen by CityAM, Wigmore hit out at the Electoral Commission after it asked Leave.EU for information around the political campaign's funding of the Brexit gig.
"Despite our best efforts, the constant pressure and repeated threats have finally killed off what should have been a great event for our dedicated and hard-working supporters," read the statement.
A spokesperson for the campaign told The Capitalist that Bpoplive was paid for by private donors and not Leave.EU directly, but the Electoral Commission said that the campaign consistently ignored requests to clarify the funding details.
A spokesperson for the the Electoral Commission said: "The Commission has not requested or suggested that the event cannot or should not take place.
"We identified an event that, had it proceeded, would need to comply with the rules on referendum campaign spending. As we would in any such matter, we contacted the event organisers regarding the costs and administration of the event and have been awaiting a response to outstanding queries on this.
"It is important that the campaign spending rules are followed properly."
The concert has now been pushed back for a second time until September, four months after the EU referendum vote.
Last month, Leave.EU's Brian Monteith told The Capitalist that the cancellation fee for Birmingham's Genting Arena was too high for the gig to be axed. Will campaigners be footing the bill now?
Monteith said: "I can't say what happens next".