Ireland cancels concert

European Union president Ireland has cancelled a major open-air concert in Dublin that was to be the centrepiece of its celebrations to mark the historic enlargement of the bloc on May 1. Plans for the free concert on the city's main thoroughfare fell...

European Union president Ireland has cancelled a major open-air concert in Dublin that was to be the centrepiece of its celebrations to mark the historic enlargement of the bloc on May 1.

Plans for the free concert on the city's main thoroughfare fell apart late on Tuesday when the extent of the potential disruption to traffic and business became clear.

"It would have been necessary to close the street five days before the event in order to erect the stage and make it safe, and allow for rehearsal time," Cathriona Edwards, communications manager for Irish state broadcaster RTE, said yesterday.

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