The Youth Ministry has denied claims that the government cancelled a music show by Australian band ‘Bjorn Again’, which was scheduled to be held tomorrow night at the Social Centre by Uba Events.

According to the Ministry, they never instructed anyone to cancel the show. The Ministry stated that their only request was for the organisers to move the show to a different venue, and they had also assured the organisers of their assistance in facilitating this change.

The Ministry explained that the reason behind requesting the venue change was that major immediate renovation works were required at the Social Centre’s indoor hall, including work on the stage roof.

The Ministry’s statement comes after former President Mohamed Nasheed expressed his displeasure over the matter in a post on X. Nasheed said, “This show should not be banned, music should not be banned. What the youth of Maldives want should be able to happen in this country. This is not a country for a select few, this is the Maldives of all Maldivians.”