Flo Rida cancels Australian gig

Flo Rida has come under fire from promoters in Australia after cancelling his appearance at a music festival just hours before he was due to take the stage.

The hip-hop star was slated to perform at the Fat As Butter festival in Newcastle, Australia on Saturday (22Oct11), but axed the show due to "unforeseen circumstances".

A statement posted on his Twitter.com page reads, "Australian fans, I was looking forward to performing for you but due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to do so..."

However, the cancellation has prompted criticism from festival organisers who insist they were "disappointed" by his decision not to appear.

A statement from the organisers reads, "We are extremely disappointed that Flo Rida decided not to fulfil his commitment to appear at the Fat As Butter festival on Saturday, but we are more disappointed that he let his fans down...

"What happened on Saturday was completely out of Fat As Butter's control. We sympathise with and share in the frustrations of fans and festival patrons who were so disappointed by Flo Rida's non-appearance. We were hanging on with great hope that he would perform, and went to great lengths to make contingency plans in the hope that he would show up late. However, the festival had to go on..."