A nationwide tour by Hong Kong Disneyland suffered a setback in Shenzhen after police forced the cancellation of a show yesterday coinciding with the city's annual congress meetings.
The aborted event was to be the first of many the theme park wants to stage in major cities before the May 1 holiday. It rented space in a shopping mall in Lowu district about a month ago, building a lavish platform and distributing hundreds of free tickets.
But Hong Kong Disneyland suddenly announced yesterday that the show would be cancelled, offering no explanation.
Chen Weigang , promotions manager for the mall, said the show had to be put off because Disneyland could not get approval from the Shenzhen authorities.
'My understanding is that no mass gathering is allowed during the Shenzhen People's Congress meetings. So the Shenzhen police turned down their application,' he said.
A company spokeswoman said the necessary paperwork and approvals had been obtained from Shenzhen's culture and fire departments but not the Public Security Bureau. The theme park was notified by Shenzhen authorities on Thursday that the song-and-dance show could not be held and the stage should be dismantled. Similar shows have been scheduled in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing over the next few weeks.
