Cohen Cambodia Show Canceled

Leonard Cohen has canceled a Nov. 27 concert scheduled for Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

In a “mass e-mail” to people who planned to attend the concert tour manager Robert Kory explained in detail how the local promoter “failed to account properly for the cost in presenting the concert in such a remote location.”

Relying on AEG Live to “verify the financial integrity of all promoters,” Kory’s staff eventually came to feel they “were not getting answers from the local promoter about equipment arrivals.”

Cohen’s show, as Kory, points out, is an expensive endeavor because “we do not compromise the standards” when it comes to sound. With equipment costs alone topping $500,000, Kory concluded that the venue, which seats 2,000, would not be able to provide enough revenue to cover the basic expenses, let alone make money for the promoter, even if it sold out.

Kory said in closing that the tour “remains committed to playing Asia” and may do so next year after the release of a new Cohen album.

As part of the proceeds from the Cambodian concert were to go to charity, Kory pledged to “make a donation” to the designated charities “from revenues earned in Australia.”

These donations would “come directly from my pocket and from Leonard’s.”