Summerside to review failed concert decisions

The city of Summerside, P.E.I., will conduct an internal review into the failed Michael Jackson tribute concert that cost taxpayers more than $1 million.

The city paid $1.3 million to a U.S. promoter to land a show honouring the late American singer. It was to have featured superstars including Beyonce and Usher and was to have been the opening night of a world tour.

Promoter Katrina Berg Sussmeier's show never materialized and Summerside is suing her in California. It hopes to eventually get its money back through the courts.

In the meantime, the city council wants to ensure something like that never happens again.

It passed a resolution calling for a review to look at the process that put the city in the situation in the first place, as well as the role staff and council might have played.

City councillor Frank Costa said the review is just starting.

"We're going to be working with our staff, looking at all the procedures that went in place in terms of you know, how did this come to be?" he said.

"So it's a review that we feel we want to do in order to have a better process in place so that we don't come to this place in the future."  

No time lines have been set yet for the review to report its findings.