CAPE TOWN (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — South African promoter Kususa Entertainment has been the focus of a growing litany of complaints, following a string of "disastrous" Celine Dion dates and a canceled Josh Groban tour.
Kusasa Entertainment's Duncan Heafield drew heavy criticism after two of Dion's Cape Town dates left fans enduring lenghty queus, nightmarish traffic snarls and seating problems. He has also been the target of litigation by a growing number of suppliers, who claim that they haven't been paid for shows, some of which date back to March 2007, Billboard has reported.
The latest brouhaha for Heafield is over an eight-date string of dates that was slated to kick off on March 16th but has since gone by the boards.
At least one major Venue, the Coca-Cola Dome, has issued a statement saying that they will no longer work with "unreliable" promoters and they mention Heafield and Kusasa by name.
"When artists' tours are badly organised, not only will the patrons think twice about attending future shows, the agents will also think twice about bringing world class artists to South Africa." said Carol Weaving, Managing Director of the Coca-Cola Dome "The postponement of Josh Groban's tour, due to the failure of the tour promoter, Duncan Heafield of Kusasa, is reflecting badly on the entire industry. Groban told a local radio station that, South Africa has really touched me deeply and we were very much looking forward to this tour. I promise that when we do come back, it will be better than you could ever believe."
Weaving goes on to cite Heafield's performance with the Dion shows and a Julio Iglesias concert.
"The dome's main objective is to host world class events and make sure that our patrons who pay good money to have a good time – have a great experience. We will not allow unprofessional promoters to jeopardise this objective – hence the decision to no longer work with such people." she added. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
