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Venues and promoters sometimes have to pull the plug. A performer might breach their contract, ticket sales might have collapsed, or a production might reveal a genuine safeguarding risk. Here’s a recent case where the cancellation was itself a discriminatory breach of the Equality Act.
The Philip Simon case
Philip Simon, a Jewish comedian, was due to perform Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way? at Edinburgh’s Banshee Labyrinth during the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His performances were cancelled shortly before the festival. According to Doughty Street Chambers, the venue referred to his attendance at a vigil commemorating people murdered and taken hostage during the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and accused him of sharing “rhetoric and symbology” associated with Israel. His comedy show was apolitical and contained no material about Israel or Gaza.
Simon brought proceedings in Edinburgh Sheriff Court. On the eve of the substantive hearing, the venue accepted that it had discriminated against him contrary to the Equality Act 2010. This wasn’t a High Court or County Court judgment and didn’t produce a fully reasoned, binding precedent. But it resulted in a venue formally accepting unlawful discrimination and offers a serious operational warning to the sector.
Can a venue still pull the plug?
Yes. A venue, promoter or organiser can ordinarily cancel where there’s a lawful contractual basis and a genuine, evidenced reason: a material contractual breach, unlawful content, a credible safeguarding or security risk, non-payment, force majeure, or another objectively supportable commercial reason.
The problem arises when the stated reason isn’t the real reason, or when the decision is based on assumptions associated with a protected characteristic. A cancellation may be unlawful if race, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age, pregnancy or maternity, or a protected religious or philosophical belief materially influences the decision.
When should a venue pause before cancelling?
A venue should pause before cancelling where the concern involves a performer’s religion, ethnicity or nationality; attendance at a religious, political or community event; lawful statements of belief; disability-related behaviour; anticipated protests or social-media pressure; or an automated reputational or security risk score. These are warning signs, not automatic prohibitions. But they require a more careful process.
Safety can plainly justify cancelling an event. But the risk must be genuine and supported by evidence. A general statement that staff feel uncomfortable is unlikely to be enough where that discomfort is itself connected to the performer’s race, religion or belief.
The full article covers the decision-recording requirements, the liability exposure for automated risk scoring, and a practical cancellation decision framework for venues and promoters.
A venue that relies on an automated reputational risk score may be in a particularly exposed position. If the score is generated by reference to protected characteristics, or if the vendor’s system produces outputs that correlate with religion, ethnicity or belief, the venue remains liable.
The decision record should identify the precise risk, the evidence supporting it, its likelihood and potential consequences, any information obtained from the performer, the alternative controls considered, and why cancellation was necessary.
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The full article covers decision-recording requirements, automated reputational risk scoring and its legal exposure, and a practical cancellation decision framework for venues, promoters and event organisers.
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What’s in the full article
Decision recording
What a proper cancellation decision record must contain. The six elements that protect a venue from a discrimination claim after the fact.
Automated risk scoring
Why relying on a vendor’s risk score doesn’t transfer your liability. What happens when that score correlates with protected characteristics.
Cancellation decision framework
A practical step-by-step framework for venues, promoters and event organisers facing a difficult cancellation decision.
Accessibility specialist and legal professional. Postgraduate legal qualifications, CEDR mediation accreditation. Experience in Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases. Director, Strategic Access Advisory Limited.
This article provides general legal and operational information and doesn’t constitute legal advice. For organisation-specific guidance, contact us.