Beauty fair cancelled in Sandton, leaving vendors and ticket holders out of pocket
Vendors and ticket holders who travelled from across South Africa and neighbouring countries were left stranded after the Africa International Hair and Beauty Fair was cancelled in Sandton.
The African International Hair and Beauty Fair, set to take place in Sandton, has been abruptly cancelled, leaving vendors and ticket holders in a state of confusion. Organisers claim the event was cancelled due to non-payment to the venue. Among the affected attendees were Kroes Rocks ambassador Simone Thomas, who had travelled from Pretoria to Sandton after purchasing two tickets for R300 each via Quicket in February.
Upon arriving at the venue, Thomas found a cancellation notice at the entrance and discovered there had been no prior communication from the organisers regarding the event's cancellation. Despite contacting Peace Mthethwa, the alleged organiser, Thomas only received confirmation of the cancellation and an email confirming her ticket refund after attempting to resolve the issue for hours.
The organisers reportedly informed attendees that they had been trying to contact Mthethwa for about three weeks regarding payment. Vendors had reportedly paid between R25 000 and R75 000 for their stands, with attendees coming from as far as Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Cape Town. Some attendees from Kimberley even turned back after learning of the cancellation.
Exhibitors are reportedly attempting to recover their losses by selling their products elsewhere in Johannesburg. Thomas expressed her concern over the impact on small businesses, noting the lack of an apology, message, or communication from the organisers. Attempts to reach Mthethwa for comment were unsuccessful.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
