Bieber producers vs. Tourism Ministry

Producers who brought Canadian pop singer to Israel demand ministry pay them back for costs of touristic part of visit

Five months have passed since Justin Bieber's concert in Tel Aviv, but the Canadian pop singer's producers in Israel are now demanding that the Tourism Ministry pay them back for the costs of the touristic part of the visit. 

Bieber's visit to Israel was initiated by a private production company, led by producers Marcel Avram and Gad Oron, and Attorney Hagai Strohweiss. Before the concert, however, Bieber toured Israel as a guest of the Tourism Ministry. The show's producers claimed Wednesday that the costs of the tour were paid by the production company, which would like its money back now. 

According to the claims, the visit included four tour days, costing $6,000 a day. This sum includes the singer's security expenses and transportation services. 

"The Tourism Ministry used the security and transportation services we financed for Bieber, so that he could tour the country for PR purposes," the production company claims. 

Bieber and security guards in Jerusalem (Photo: Eli Mandelabum)

The affair, according to producer Gad Oron, began about a month and a half before Bieber's arrival. "The Tourism Ministry approached us and asked to be part of Bieber's visit to Israel, in order to promote the Dead Sea as one of the New7Wonders of Nature and have Bieber pose for a photos with the tourism minister there," says Oron. 

"We agreed, as it was clear that they would take part in the costs too, but since then and until Bieber landed in Israel, we didn't hear from them. The morning after he landed, we saw Tourism Ministry representatives at the hotel trying to take him on a tour. 

"The bodyguards I hired told me that Tourism Ministry officials wanted to go on a tour with Bieber, and asked me whether they should accompany him on the tour," Oron said, adding that he responded: "Escort him as needed, and we'll take care of everything." 

Bieber arrives at the Sea Galilee (Photo: Yariv Katz)

After the tours, he turned to the Tourism Ministry and asked to get his money back. "They ignored me," the producer said. "Later, I received a rude and impolite answer, so I decided to drop it." 

'Ministry's interference damaged State's image'

Another member of the production team added, "When the meeting between Justin Bieber and the prime minister was supposedly canceled, the Tourism Ministry turned to us to help solve the crisis. They asked us to talk to Bieber's side and get them to let go of the matter. 

"After the whole tour affair, we made great efforts to keep it quiet, so it's a shame that the Tourism Ministry is engaging in trivial things.

"The Tourism Ministry's interference in Bieber's visit to Israel only damaged the State's image." 

A Tourism Ministry official strongly denied the claims, telling Ynet that the ministry "was not linked and is not linked to the producers of Justin Bieber's show in any agreement or commitment, and they were not a party in the Tourism Ministry's talks upon the singer's arrival in Israel. 

"The Tourism Ministry hosts thousands of opinion formers, including first-class celebrities, and our contact with them is held directly and without any connection to the reason of their visit or their other activities in Israel. 

"In this case too, the ministry held direct talks with the artist's team, to the satisfaction of both sides. The producers of Justin Bieber's show were not a party to these talks." 

Attorney Hagai Strohweiss, a member of the Bieber production team in Israel, said in response: "If we were not a party in this affair and the Tourism Ministry used the cars we rented and bodyguards we hired, we would like them to give us back the money." 

Source: YNetNews