{"id":278721,"date":"2026-02-03T15:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/278721\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T15:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:52:07","slug":"dublin-lord-of-the-dance-show-at-3arena-cancelled-due-to-michael-flatley-legal-dispute-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/278721\/","title":{"rendered":"Dublin Lord Of The Dance show at 3Arena \u2018cancelled\u2019 due to Michael Flatley legal dispute \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lord Of The Dance 30th anniversary show, due to take place at Dublin\u2019s 3Arena<\/a> this week, has been cancelled due to an ongoing legal dispute, organisers have said. <\/p>\n

A spokesman for Michael Flatley<\/a>, who developed the show, later described the move as \u201coutrageous\u201d and insisted that the performance would go on. <\/p>\n

A solicitor for Switzer Consulting Ltd, which was to run the show, said in a statement that it had been called off with \u201cimmediate effect\u201d.<\/p>\n

Describing the company as the \u201cowner of the show and the intellectual property rights\u201d, the statement added that the decision \u201chas not been taken lightly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwitzer fully recognises and regrets the disappointment this will cause to fans and ticket holders who were looking forward to the performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

It blamed \u201can ongoing commercial and legal dispute concerning the operation of the show, which could not be resolved in the timeframe available\u201d.<\/p>\n

Last Thursday, a legal order blocking Flatley from engaging with the Lord Of The Dance production was overturned<\/a> by a court in Belfast.<\/p>\n

Switzer Consulting had taken the action in a civil case against the choreographer and dancer for alleged breach of contract, relating to an agreement the firm says was reached to allow it to run the dance shows.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Flatley on Tuesday insisted that despite the sudden announcement of the show\u2019s cancellation, the performance would go ahead as planned on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe service agreement with Switzer Consulting Limited was terminated yesterday afternoon,\u201d he said. \u201cMichael\u2019s legal team was in court this morning in Belfast and a hearing date was set for April 2026.\u201d <\/p>\n

The spokesman said it was \u201coutrageous\u201d that Switzer would \u201cissue a press release just three short hours after appearing in court this morning in the way that they have\u201d. <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cParticularly when the relationship with Michael has been validly terminated and half a million euros has been lodged in a solicitor\u2019s account pending the hearing in April.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded by saying that Flatley\u2019s legal advisers would be seeking an injunction in Belfast on Tuesday afternoon \u201cto ensure the show on Thursday goes ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Firm barring Michael Flatley from Lord of the Dance tour just a \u2018management agent\u2019, court hearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The Dublin show is being seen as a showcase for US bookers, many of whom are planning to travel to Ireland to see the performance before deciding whether they want to bring it to US cities in the coming months. <\/p>\n

In its statement, Switzer said: \u201cDespite extensive efforts to find a workable solution that would have allowed the performance to proceed, Switzer was ultimately unable to obtain the assurances required to proceed responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast after last Thursday\u2019s judgment, Flatley said the families of the show\u2019s dancers, cast and crew had flown in for the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to lift the roof on Thursday,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will be the greatest version of this show that you will ever see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Switzer said ticket refunds would be administered by promoters and ticketing agents. \u2013 Additional report PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Lord Of The Dance 30th anniversary show, due to take place at Dublin\u2019s 3Arena this week, has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3265,93,61,60,2050],"class_list":["post-278721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-3arena","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-flatley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}