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Singapore Listens out for £2m |
A renowned promoter has been sued by the Singapore Tourist Board (STB) for £2million (€2.8m) after the live leg of a global media campaign to raise money for children’s charities failed to materialise.
The Listen Campaign launched in the US earlier this month, with involvement from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman, but organisers behind the event are still awaiting a court judgement from an earlier failed attempt.
A renowned promoter has been sued by the Singapore Tourist Board (STB) for £2million (€2.8m) after the live leg of a global media campaign to raise money for children’s charities failed to materialise.
The Listen Campaign launched in the US earlier this month, with involvement from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman, but organisers behind the event are still awaiting a court judgement from an earlier failed attempt.
Tony Hollingsworth’s Children’s Media Pvt Ltd was initially contracted by the STB in January 2004, according to STB, to secure sponsorship and high profile acts for an internationally broadcast concert at the National Stadium (cap. 40,000). The event was subsequently postponed on three separate occasions before being eventually cancelled in April 2006.
The case was heard in the Singapore High Court over three weeks in September and October, and judgement is expected in March 2008. “The case came down to one simple issue: who was to raise the sponsorship out of Singapore.” Hollingsworth says. “They invested about £2m and we invested about £3m [€4.2m] in trying to make the project happen with the live event in Singapore. Unfortunately, the sponsorship marketplace is just too small.”
SBT’s Oliver Chong disagrees, saying, “Raising sponsorship from Singapore was not the only way to raise funds for the project. SBT were a major sponsor themselves and we brought Singapore Airlines on board. One of Tony’s responsibilities was to raise sponsorship over and above what we raised ourselves.”
According to Hollingsworth, the combined investment of £5m (€6.9m) was spent “…developing the entire campaign around the world, broadcasters around the world and the production in Singapore,” although he states that STB’s funds were spent solely in Singapore. “The concert was just one element of one very big thing,” he says.
But others are sceptical about the high costs surrounding the failed show. “It’s difficult to see how you can spend £2m working on an event that didn’t get close to taking place,” says Sensible Events’ Andrew Zweck. “This certainly isn’t the first time that Hollingsorth’s mounted or tried to mount large scale events that have left people out of pocket.”
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