The Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau today said an art fair that has been cancelled was not offered funding from the Mega Arts & Cultural Events Fund due to inadequate information being provided by its organisers.

The bureau made the statement in response to discussions and media enquiries arising from the cancellation of the event, which was originally scheduled to take place next month.

The bureau explained that the fair did apply to the Mega Arts & Cultural Events Fund, but failed to provide adequate information for assessment of its artistic merits, attractiveness to tourists, economic benefits, and other aspects. As such, the fund did not award funding to the fair.

When the fund received the application, tickets for the event were already on sale.

The bureau appealed to event organisers to prepare sufficient funding for their events before tickets are put on sale in order to avoid cancellations and having to issue ticket refunds due to insufficient resources.

It said the fair’s organisers should handle cancellation and ticket refund arrangements properly, and maintain good communication with affected ticket holders.