LGBT party organisers slam Capitol Theatre for 'disingenuous' response to cancelled event

Slay LA, the organisers of an event targeted at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community have fired back at Capitol Theatre after the latter claimed that it cancelled its event due to a lapse in communication. Slay LA argued that Capitol Theatre was "disingenuous" in its response and that neither IMC Asia or Perennial Holdings were giving them "the full story," according to a statement given to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

The issue began when the event, Slay Harajuka, which was meant to be held at the theatre on 27 May, was cancelled unexpectedly by Capitol Theatre. 

In a statement to the press, Capitol Theatre's operator, IMC Group Asia noted that the party, was cancelled because it was an electronic dance music (EDM) event and not over its LGBTQ nature as was suggested by the organiser, Slay LA.

The firm reportedly decided to no longer hold EDM events at the theatre after a New Year's Eve EDM party there left the location in a bad condition. 

However, the change in policy was reportedly not communicated effectively to the venue's management team, according to IMC Group Asia. The spokesperson noted that they regret this outcome and that it will work to improve its internal communications, said TODAY. 

Don't miss: LGBTQ party cancelled over miscommunication and not its queer nature, says Capitol Theatre

When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out to Slay LA, the Los Angeles based event organiser said that it is "disingenuous" for Capitol Theatre to say that the reason for the cancellation is the likely property damage at EDM events.

"That means they already knew of this issue months before - they had January till March to communicate their concern to us but failed to do so," it said. "Instead, they proceeded to issue the agreement, sign off on it and to accept our payment, all in March. Then, just weeks before our event, they decide to terminate," Slay LA continued. 

It concluded by saying:

This has led us to believe there were other reasons for the termination and that neither IMC Asia nor Perennial Holdings are giving us the full story.

The statement comes days after Slay LA took to its Instagram page to announce that its Slay Harajuku party was cancelled. 

"It is with a heavy heart that we make this announcement. Due to an unexpected and sudden termination of our venue hire agreement, Slay Harajuku scheduled for 27 May, will be cancelled," it wrote before adding that it felt that its guests and supporters deserved an explanation. 

Slay LA claimed that in December last year, it began discussions with IMC Asia to host Slay Harajuku on 27 May 2023. 

"The venue hire agreement was fully executed and full payment was made in March," it said before adding that from the outset, the Slay team made it known that Slay was a diverse and inclusive LGBTQ party event that welcomed everyone. 

"On Tuesday, 11 April, we received a call from IMC Asia informing us that the stakeholder Perennial Holdings was uncomfortable with Slay being a “gay event” and sought reassurance," it said. "The Slay team then sent an email stating [its] diversity, equality and inclusion objectives, and that the event is supported by several product sponsors."

Unfortunately, according to Slay, they were informed on 14 April over the phone and by email that its hire agreement was being terminated.

It said:

The reason being, negative feedback was received from neighboring tenants, and from the adjacent hotel and mosque, after a previous EDM event was held over New Year’s Eve.

Slay noted that these concerns were never made known to them at any point in previous correspondences or site visits. It added that it was unable to move Slay Harajuku to a suitable alternative venue and to reapply for the required venue specific police licenses given the short lead time which is why the decision was made to cancel the event. 

"Before we go, we would like to state that we remain committed to carving out safe spaces for the LGBTQ community that are open and inclusive and will continue to work only with venues that share our vision of celebrating our diverse and beautiful lives," it concluded. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out to Capitol Theatre for a statement but received no response. 

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