Reason for halting of show unclear
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The fanciful light and sound show playing on the fence of the Royal Palace to mark His Majesty the King's birthday has come to a close but the reason for its abrupt cancellation was still murky.
“Please don’t try to make an issue of the programming,” Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit said yesterday.
The show had an appropriate run considering the flood crisis, he said.
Extending the performances could be construed as excessive and insensitive to the plight of the flood victims, he said.
The government had terminated the programme for this year, but it might be rerun next year due to popular demand, he said.
Organiser Vachirakorn Artkhoomvong posted on Twitter that authorities suddenly told his team to discontinue the show as of Sunday.
It was listed for every night until Friday, he said.
“The organising team was told to cancel the show without a reason given,” he said.
All preparations were made to stage yesterday’s broadcast following the candlelighting ceremony but it had been scrubbed at the last minute, he added.
Deputy government spokesman Anusorn Eiamsaard said the celebration for His Majesty’s birthday was scheduled from last Saturday to this Friday.
The multimedia movie was one of the events and had ended as scheduled, he said, pointing out that it was a misunderstanding that all activities would last seven days.
