Brighouse & Rastrick has been left ‘deeply frustrated and disappointed’ following a last minute decision by the organisers of the International Brass Band Contest in Leuven in Belgium to cancel their participation in the event’s Gala Concert on Saturday night.

No flights

4BR understands that the West Riding band was in the process of packing a van with instruments to make the trip to the continent after rehearsal on Thursday evening, when news reached them that the organisers had failed to book flight tickets or deposit part of the concert fee into the bands bank account as promised.

One source told 4BR: "The band feels immensely let down. Promises were made that everything was OK and we were informed that flights had been booked and the agreed fee was to be paid.

Players have taken time off work, the band has incurred considerable expense and we are sure many hundreds of fans will feel disappointed too. The organisers have shown themselves to be very unprofessional."

Judges costs

4BR has also been informed that some adjudicators have also had to pay their own travel costs with the promise of reimbursement up to two weeks after the event.

Unforseen problems

However, Contest Organiser Michael Dils, explained to 4BR that due to unforeseen problems with booking the flights with Ryanair, he was left with no alternative other than to cancel.

"We have had problems with the flights booked," he said.

"We even had to go to the offices of the travel agents to sort this out with our legal representative. We tried to search for an alternative way with rail companies and other air travel but the cost was close to 15,000 Euro.

We did not have the budget for this. I can only apologise to the band that this has occurred, but there was nothing else we could do."

Deep disappointment

An official press release from Brighouse & Rastrick also emphasised their deep disappointment:

"Earlier this year we were fortunate enough to be invited to play at the Gala Concert IBBC 2012 at Lemmensinstituut, Leuven, Belgium which was scheduled for this weekend. We were delighted to accept and have been eagerly looking forward to it.

The band was informed last night that this concert has had to be cancelled."

Frustrated and disappointed

It adds: "The band received a phone call from the event organisers, informing us that due to lack of budget, the concert can no longer take place.

We feel deeply frustrated and disappointed by this decision and we would like to express our sincere apologies especially to everyone who will be negatively impacted by the by the IBBC’s last minute decision, we realise it is extremely short notice."

Prize money

4BR has also been informed that a number of bands have raised questions direct to the contest organisers about other aspects of the event – including the promise of what the contest website states is a ‘prestigious prize package’ of 27,000 Euros. The Championship winner is due to take home an 8,000 Euro first prize.

One band representative said: "We paid out the entry fee of 250 Euros, attracted by the promise that every competing band would be awarded at least 400 Euros in prize money. The website is now much vaguer and we are a little worried about this in light of what has occurred with Brighouse."

The band received a phone call from the event organisers, informing us that due to lack of budget, the concert can no longer take placeBrighouse & Rastrick

No changes

However, Michael Dils was keen to tell 4BR that the bands should not be concerned: "Everything will go ahead as planned with the contest.

There are no changes to the contest itself and all the prizes are in place.

The Gala Concert on Saturday will now feature Oslo Brass Band and Buizingen at a reduced entry price, with Brass Band Willebroek playing for 45 minutes on the Sunday before the announcement of the results. Refunds will be made to people who are out of pocket with the purchase of existing tickets."

Legal action

Meanwhile, 4BR understands that Brighouse & Rastrick may consider legal action to ensure they are not left completely out of pocket themselves due to the last minute cancellation.

As the source added: "We can take the necessary action for the money we are owed if required, but our reputation is priceless – and that has been tarnished by the treatment we have received."