Promoters To Sue CRADLE OF FILTH Over Canceled Concert

The organizers of the canceledCRADLE OF FILTH concert in Ecuador last weekend are intending to take legal action against the group for their failure to perform at the event, the Ecuadorian daily newspaper El Comercio reported.

"We are going to initiate a legal process against [CRADLE OF FILTH] in order to force the band to return the advance costs incurred in connection with the concert's organization," stated Rubén Clays, spokesperson at the House of Rock, who promoted the event.

CRADLE OF FILTH were scheduled to perform at Plaza de Toros Quito in Quito, Ecuador on Saturday (Sept. 25) but ended up cancelling the concert at the last minute after experiencing flight delays on their way to the Ecuadorian capital.

A posting on the group's official web site blamed the cancellation on "a change in airline schedules," claiming that when the band tried to land in Quito they were told the runway had been closed for maintenance, forcing their plane to be diverted to Cali in Colombia.

The posting added that once the band had arrived in Cali, "they were then told there was no confirmed departure time to Quito, but it would be at least a few hours. This meant by the time they flew to Quito, cleared customs, collected equipment, got to the venue and set up the equipment, it would have been some time in the early hours of the following day, before the show would be ready to happen."

But the band's version of what happened directly contradicts the explanation offered by the concert promoters, who claim that the group never actually cancelled the show and, on the contrary, called from Cali to announce that they would be arriving late in Quito but would still be going ahead with the performance.

After the roughly 5,000 CRADLE OF FILTH fans were told of the concert cancellation, a riot ensued, with significant damage being caused to the amplifiers and sound equipment, before the police were able to gain control of the crowd.