What a fiasco. On Sunday, less than 24 hours before the concert celebrating the Dome's re-opening was due to start it was cancelled because of the venue's inability to gain a public safety certificate.

Did the Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), the Waterside Hall (Belfast) and the Lowry (Salford), to name but three, fail to open on the advertised date?

Is Brighton and Hove in a class of its own for sheer incompetence?

As a local resident who has enjoyed music in the Dome with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra for more than half a century, I will never forgive the Brighton Festival (lessees of the Dome from Brighton and Hove City Council) for depriving me of the one event I have been looking forward to for years - being present at a magnificent concert to officially re-open the concert hall.

This honour was promised to the Brighton and Hove Philharmonic Society when the Dome closed for refurbishment.

European Capital of Culture? We should withdraw from the contest before our bid is laughed out of court.

-Bob Gunnell, Wayland Avenue, Brighton