American rapper 50 Cent is being taken to court in Gorzow, western Poland, for cancelling a concert that the city spent 100,000 zloty promoting.

Legal teams from Gorzow and 50 Cent met Wednesday to discuss the case.

50 Cent was supposed to play in Gorzow in August 2008 as part of a promotional concert series for the city. After cancelling the concert, 50 Cent’s handlers did not refund the city the money spent, or set up alternative arrangements. 

“We signed a contract for 200,000 zloty [47,000 euro]. The city logo appeared on posters. In every advertisement for the rapper, the city’s name appeared. We were convinced it was a good idea,” says Jolanta Ciesla, spokesperson for the city’s legal team.

The concert was to take place in the sports stadium in Gorzow with a capacity to hold 10,000 of the rapper’s Polish fans. Initially, when the city realized that the event was not turning out as planned, they attempted to push the concert back a month. Still, no tickets were sold.  

The city had paid out 100,000 zloty in sponsorship, with plans to pay the second 100,000 zloty after the event. “Organizers expected to fulfill the contract and gain publicity for the city. We are of the opinion that this was not an advertisement for us at all but the opposite: an ‘anti-advertisement,’” adds Ciesla. 

The concert organizers have not publicly disclosed why the event was cancelled. “Our legal department is handling the case,” says Michal Torz, from the Gdansk Shipyard Centre, the organizers of the concert. 

In the fall of 2008, Gorzow began negotiating with the concert organizers, hoping to save the promotional campaign and sponsor concerts with other international superstars, such as Cesaria Evora. 

“That option was almost immediately excluded. We got burned by the 50 Cent concert and now we will be more careful with such initiatives in the future,” declares Ciesla. (mmj/pg)