[Red Moon]

Spice Girls fall victim to email hoax

The Spice Girls were the victims of a bogus email yesterday which claimed they had cancelled a tour date in South America due to the level of demand in Britain and the US.

A fake email was sent round and published on several websites claiming the group were to pull out of their gig in Buenos Aires in Argentina in January.

The reformed girl group were forced to issue a statement denying the cancellation - although they confirmed high demand has meant the show has to be postponed.

Phenomenal interest in tickets for the reunion tour, which starts next Sunday in Vancouver has seen the group add several dates and led to others being rescheduled.

But the bogus email claimed "overwhelming" demand in the US and Britain had meant the Argentinian slot was to be cancelled completely.

It quoted the Spice Girls as saying: "In order to meet that demand, it's not possible for us to keep extending the tour because of our solo projects and family obligations.

"That means we are unable to hold a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We're incredibly sorry for the delay in making this announcement, but we have been really trying to fit this date in our schedule."

The group later issued a statement to stress that the e-mail had not come from them and that the Argentinian performance would go ahead on a date yet to be confirmed.

The statement said: "The Spice Girls would like to make it clear that they have not cancelled their Buenos Aires show. A story has appeared on several websites that includes a fake email and competition from the girls.

"The fake email claims that due to the demand so far in the UK and the US this show is going to be cancelled.

"The email goes onto say that they will be running some competitions for their South American fans to travel to the UK to watch a show. This is not the case and this e-mail is 100% unofficial and has nothing to so with the Spice Girls."

It adds: "The truth is that the Buenos Aires show has had to be postponed due to all the extra added dates and incredible demand. Further details will be made available on the girls' official website."

Next Sunday will be the first time the Spice Girls have been on tour together since Geri Halliwell sensationally left the group in May 1998.

The tour will see them perform in cities across the world, from London to Cape Town, as well as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, San Jose, Shanghai, Madrid, Beijing and Cape Town.

Source: RTE

[Lauren]

I can very much imagine that it was actually an official email but they backtracked their actions when realising the amount of support they'd lose from the media if they did actually cancel. It's amazing how the 'hacker' knew they were postponing the Buenos Aires concert.