The planned Boxing Day staging of the popular Sting show has been postponed, only hours before the show’s intended start.

A disheartened Isaiah Laing, head of Supreme Promotions Ltd, has been forced to postpone the staging of Sting 2024 after the major production company, Clearsound Production Services Group Ltd. pulled out of the event at the 11th hour.

“I am saddened because this will cause a major ripple effect throughout the economy and the music industry,” Laing said.

“Hundreds of vendors and concessionaires have invested their money and wanted to recoup during the show, dozens of artistes have rehearsed and are waiting for their chance to shine, and thousands of patrons will be disappointed by the cancellation of the show but it is beyond my control.”

Clearsound Production Services Ltd. was contracted to provide stage and sound for Sting 2024. The company’s equipment, sound and technical personnel have been situated at the Jamworld event site since last Friday.

Laing said that a deposit of $1 million was remitted to Clear Sound and on Tuesday, the remaining sum of $6.5 million was deposited via bank transfer this week. However, the public holidays meant that the sum has not been reflected the company account resulting in what Clearsound dubbed a non-compliance of “RTGS processing standards”.

“Clearsound Production has been paid in full but the show, sadly, cannot go on,” Laing said.

Laing said that patrons who purchased tickets online will be entitled to a full refund.

Laing said he received a call from one of the Clearsound company’s directors that he, the director, had breached the company’s internal policies and that the company would be removing its sound and staging equipment and technical personnel from the event site.

Hence, Laing is now forced to postpone the event.

“Due to the complexity of the setup, it is impossible to get a replacement at this time, because to meet the high technical standards of Sting, the personnel will need at least three days to set up, not a few hours. We have no option but to postpone the event for a date to be announced,” Laing said.

In the 40 year history of the show, this is the first postponement or cancellation, even with dire weather events.

“In the year 2000, when Merciless defeated Beenie, Ninjaman and Bounty, there was a lot of rain, we removed 7 truckloads of water from the venue. That did not stop us and we still sold 10,000 tickets, people put their shoes in plastic bags and walk go over there, so for this to happen now, it is hard to stomach,” Laing said.

Sting was on a hiatus from 2015 to 2019. It was slated to return with a virtual concert in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic but was later cancelled due to financial difficulties. The event was next staged in 2022 at Plantation Cove in St Ann. It was the first staging of the event in seven years.

Laing said the show’s cancellation has created a “logistical nightmare”.

“ I had a great relationship with the previous owner of Clear Sound, and they had provided stage and sound last year so I am surprised at this turn of events. This is a logistical nightmare,” Laing said.

When contacted , Kelvin Osbourne, chief executive officer of Clearsound Production Services Ltd., said he could not comment on the issue and suggested that all questions should be directed towards Supreme Promotions Ltd.

The Jamaica Star obtained a copy of an internal memo sent by the Board of Directors of Clearsound to one of the company’s principals Kelvin Osbourne, which outlined a litany of problems and suggested that the terms of the contract were “materially breached”. Further, the memo said that the money purportedly sent by Supreme Promotions had not been deposited “in our designated account” nor does “it comply with RTGS processing standards”.

“In light of these breaches, we are issuing a formal cease and desist letter, effective immediately. Additionally, the operations team has been instructed to commence withdrawal of all equipment and personnel from the event site by 5 pm on December 25 unless full payment is reflected in our account prior to this deadline ,” the letter said.

No promissory notes or deferred payment arrangements will be accepted, the letter said.

“Only the receipt of the outstanding funds in full will prevent further action,” the letter concluded.