Blown away: Ascot forced to cancel Shergar Cup concert due to high winds

Ascot was forced to cancel its highly anticipated post-racing concert on Shergar Cup day due to high winds which caused damage to the main stage.

The event was billed as the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup & Concert, and the track had been set to play host to stars Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Go West and DJ Charlesy from 4.40pm onwards.

However the post-racing entertainment was a casualty of the windy weather which battered much of Britain on Saturday.

"It's disappointing but is sadly one of those things," said Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing and communications. "Unfortunately the weather beat us. We tried as hard as we could when the stage was badly damaged earlier in the day to look for an alternative venue.

"It just hasn't proved to be practical but we are going to refund 50 per cent of admission to customers. Technically there's no requirement to offer a refund as the race programme has not been affected, but we are conscious that this is promoted as a concert and racing event so we will make refunds as appropriate.

"Refunds will be automatic and made within 30 days. Almost all of our customers pre-paid, and those who paid on the door will have to send their tickets to our sales manager."

There was a sense of disappointment among the crowd at Ascot following the cancellation, although most were understanding of the situation.

"We've come for the racing but it's not the highest quality and the concert being cancelled has put a bit of a downer on things," said 26-year-old Josh Mann. "There's eight of us in the group and we don't really want the 50 per cent, we wanted the concert."

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