Dubai: The city will have to wait awhile longer before two divas will perform here after it was announced the world's number one-selling female artist Mariah Carey, along with Black Eyed Peas songstress Fergie, will not be playing here next week.

The news came just days after tickets went on sale on a number of websites. Fans who were quick to grab tickets will get their money back in full.

Organisers, Midas Promotions, along with Blue Giraffe Entertainment and On Golden Pond Films said the back-to-back concerts scheduled for May 15 and 16 have been postponed until later in the year. They are already looking at dates in autumn.

Weekend

Divas in Dubai, as the weekend had been dubbed, was expected to attract more than 35,000 music-lovers over the two days. VVIP tickets cost Dh3,900 each.

A producer for the event said: "Mariah and Fergie are disappointed that they won't be able to perform."

"They had scheduled this one special event in their calendars and were looking forward to performing for the Dubai fans."

Mel Tyler of Midas Promotions said the cancellation was due to a tight schedule and problems with logistics.

Officially announced just ten days ago, many people in Dubai were sceptical of the success of a concert arranged at such short notice. Organisers maintain they believe ticket sales would have been impressive.

Tyler said: "The extremely compressed time frame, along with unforeseen logistical complications compelled us to move the event to later in the year."

Rumours are circulating that the singers are simply living up to the name of the concert weekend and were not prepared to rush to Dubai at such short notice. However, the label said the cancellation had nothing to do with the singers themselves.

All ticket purchasers should contact their respective on-line ticket outlet for a full refund. Midas promotions said dates for the rescheduled concerts will be announced over the summer months.