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Art BG threatened with lawsuit by Greek ticketing firm

Greek ticketing company Viva has threatened to sue promoter Art BG over €740,000 in ticket sales after it cancelled four events and “literally disappeared.”

According to an extrajudicial statement filed by Viva and obtained by IQ Magazine, the promoter shifted more than 13,000 passes for the concerts it “did not end up organising” through Viva’s ticketing platform.

Ten days prior to the first scheduled event, Art BG dropped the bombshell that it would be unable to cover the costs of the shows, including paying the artists and venue costs, due to “financial difficulties.”

IQ reports that Viva said the promoter then “literally disappeared” and has been unresponsive to calls and written communications since.

The ticketing firm has since decided to go forward with the first concert from Bryan Adams (pictured), which was on Tuesday at Athens’ 21,000-capacity Oaka indoor arena, covering the costs itself.

Viva notes that the other three events will be “performed as planned” after teaming up with new promoter Artway.

TheTicketingBusiness.com has reached out to Art BG for comment.

Earlier this week, Art BG was also called out after CAA cancelled three Enrique Iglesias gigs in Croatia, Belarus and Latvia, after the promoter had “not fulfilled their contractual obligations.”

CAA said in a statement: “We are devoted to make the responsible party, ArtBG, held responsible for their actions.”

The Latvian ticketing firm Bilesu Serviss approached the local Police in Riga, stating: “Until a reply is received from the State Police regarding the further process, no refund will be made for the tickets purchased.”