U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg, a frequent visitor to the Netherlands and aficionado of its readily available marijuana, will not be allowed to perform at a free concert in The Hague, authorities said on Thursday.
The mayor of the Dutch city, public prosecutors and the police have asked organizers of the Parkpop festival, billed as the largest in Europe, to find another act to replace Snoop Dogg "in order to be able to guarantee the open and friendly character and free admission of Parkpop" to be held June 27.
In a statement, the rapper's record company EMI said, "Snoop Dogg is astonished by the decision."
Snoop Dogg usually holds concerts in the European country at least once a year.
"This is all very annoying that the headliner is being removed from the program 10 days before the event," a spokeswoman for organizer Ducos Productions told ANP-Reuters.
Snoop Dogg is also scheduled to perform at a sold-out conference at Amsterdam's "Melkweg." During a 2008 concert at the same venue, he smoked several joints during a performance and at one point was joined by singer Willie Nelson, who is also co-chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
EMI said, "Snoop Dogg performances have always been the epitome of 'open and friendly,' which has been proven countless times" at other festivals. The record label cited concert promotion company Mojo as saying, "We have never had any issues with Snoop."
Outside the festival circuit, the 38-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, has encountered problems.
He has been denied entry into the United Kingdom since 2007 after a fracas the previous year involving members of his entourage. In that year, Snoop Dogg also pleaded no contest to gun and drug charges in the United States and was barred from entering Australia after failing a character test.