A statement from the organisers states that the event, which was due to feature Razorlight, Alexandra Burke and N-Dubz among others, cannot go ahead "due to circumstances beyond our control." Full refunds are available from Ticketmaster, according to the organisers Premium Nights.

The show had been designed to capitalise on the publication of the Leaving Cert results, which are due next week. While the word on the street grapevine is that the show wasn't granted a license, poor ticket sales are said to have been a major factor in the cancellation.

The line-up for the event was ambitious and expensive, with industry sources suggesting that the main acts had already been paid up front.

"My understanding is that N Dubz were paid in full," one UK agent told Hot Press. "The likelihood is that they got somewhere between thirty and forty grand – and Alexandra Burke will have got a similar kind of fee or more, so a lot of money will already have been spent on the gig. It has the look of a very expensive mistake."

With the fee for the use of Donnybrook Stadium, where the show was to be held, coming in at around €75,000, a significant amount will also already have been paid to the owners of the stadium – though whether more than a 10% deposit had been paid remains to be seen.

This is the second major Irish promotion which has fallen through in recent times, with Grace Jones' planned Irish appearance coming a cropper when the promoters Rockefeller Productions were unable to pay the fees required to secure her appearance. A show at the Grand Canal Theatre featuring Marianne Faithfull, and being handled by the same promoter, went ahead only after it was taken over by the theatre management.

"You don't like to see anyone getting burned," a leading Dublin promoter told Hot Press, "but you have to learn your trade. Promoting gigs looks easy until you start to do it – and then you realise just how much work goes into making shows successful. I don't know these guys, but attempting to do a stadium gig straight away was far too ambitious. You start small and learn how to do it before attempting something like that."