This is how many tickets had already been sold for cancelled Sheffield Roy 'Chubby' Brown show

All the tickets which had already been sold for the cancelled Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown performance at Sheffield City Hall have been refunded, a spokesperson for Sheffield City Trust has confirmed.
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Sheffield City Council processed the refunds for the tickets amid backlash over their cancellation of the controversial comedian’s show, which was due to take place on January 29 next year.

The show was axed over concerns about racism, homophobia and sexism, and Andrew Snelling, chairman of Sheffield City Trust, said the decision to cancel it had been made as the content of Brown’s show ‘did not reflect the values of the city’.

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And while the ticket sales stood at 300 out of a possible 2,373 that were available at the city’s Oval Hall venue, the criticism the council has faced over the cancellation has come from a far greater number of people.

Controversial comic Roy 'Chubby' Brown (Photo: Getty).Controversial comic Roy 'Chubby' Brown (Photo: Getty).
Controversial comic Roy 'Chubby' Brown (Photo: Getty).

At the time of writing, a petition calling for the Chubby Brown performance to be allowed to take place has 34,000 signatures.

Petition organiser Haley Madden wrote: “Comedian Royston Vasey better known as Roy 'Chubby' Brown has been a stand up comedian since the latter end of the 60s.

"Some of the comedian’s material may not be to everyone's taste but my view (like many others around) it's simple. If you don't like, don't go [and] watch.”

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At a meeting of the city council yesterday it was confirmed that Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown is not banned from Sheffield, and that if the gig had been taking place at an independent venue – rather than one owned by Sheffield City Trust, which is funded in part by the council – it would be allowed to go ahead.

At an earlier council meeting, Liberal Democrat councillor and leader of the opposition at SCC Shaffaq Mohammed said the decision "smacks of of the nanny state".

And former Lib Dem Leader of Sheffield City Council Lord Paul Scriven said: “The right to offend is a fundamental right in a democracy. If the show is legal, what right have the council got to slap a ban on things they personally don't like?

“There are many comedians who aren’t my cup of tea – Chubby Brown being one of them. Do you know what I do? I don’t buy a ticket.”