Sangakkara and Jayawardene apologise for organising "rowdy" Enrique Iglesias concert
Former Sri Lankan cricket team captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have apologised for “wild scenes” witnessed during an Enrique Iglesias concert in Colombo on December 20. The concert of the Latin pop star was organised by Live Events - a company co-owned by the two cricketers.
Reports claimed that many women shed their underwear during the concert. The concert was a part of the Spanish singer's world tour called “Love and Sex”. There were also reports that the event as a whole was extremely mismanaged. The event began after the scheduled start and other security-related issues.
Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene are in Australia playing the Big Bash, the two issued an apology via Facebook on December 27. They admitted that security "failed alarmingly" and apologised for the "negative experience" during the one-hour long concert.
Sangakkara wrote on Facebook
Dear Enrique Ticket Holders,We wish to apologise to all of you for your negative experience at the recently concluded...
Posted by Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday, December 27, 2015
Jayawardene too posted the same lengthy apology on his Facebook page.
The organisers should be whipped: Sirisena
There was significant backlash in the country after the event. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had said "I don't advocate that these uncivilised women who removed their brassieres should be beaten with toxic stingray tails, but those who organised such an event should be."
In a conservative Sri Lankan society, public displays of affection, even among married couples, are frowned upon. Police are known to have arrested courting couples for kissing in public parks or seafront promenades.
Sirisena did not name the two cricket stars, but it was widely known that the concert was hosted by a company set up recently by the pair after Sangakkara retired from international cricket in August.
Those who had paid for the most expensive tickets were said to have been dislodged by people who bought cheaper tickets as security and crowd control arrangements failed. They also denied allegations that they had dodged paying local municipal taxes amounting to nearly 30 million rupees ($288,123),
This gives this bizarre saga a political twist. The problem rose to such heights that the organizers are planning to return the ticket amount. Tickets were bought by fans for 5,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees ($350) and now the organisers are planning to refund the same.