MULTINATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT manager AEG is pulling out of the Winter Wonderland event it planned to run in Kilmainham, Dublin, over the next four Christmases.

The US-based group invested €2 million in the show last year, which included a giant ice rink and a circus, in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, originally planned to run for five years.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art, which is based at the Royal Hospital and which provided the venue, confirmed yesterday that AEG has contacted it to say that it will not be going ahead with the next four Winter Wonderland shows.

It is understood that revenues fell short of what AEG had hoped to generate from the event, which was also backed by the 7Up soft drink brand.

The multinational was also said to be unhappy with planning and other regulatory requirements imposed on it.

It is not clear if the museum is going to look for a replacement for the Winter Wonderland event.

A spokeswoman said AEG had only contacted it this week to to say that it was pulling out. She added that the organisation was disappointed with the multinational’s decision.

A competing event, Christmas on Ice, which ran at the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin, is also in trouble. The promoter, Sage Creek Ltd, has called a creditors meeting for today and is likely to be put into liquidation with debts of €1.5 million.

Businesswoman Avril Bannerton runs Sage Creek. She sold another events business, Taste of Dublin, a number of years ago, and invested the proceeds in the new operation.

She is understood to be due €1 million from the company, while other creditors, mainly goods and service suppliers, are due about €500,000.

US-based AEG is one of the world’s biggest sports, event and music promoters in the world.

It owns or operates a number of high-profile venues, including the O2 arenas in London and Berlin, the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and the Nokia Theatre in Times Square, New York.

It also owns a range of sports and entertainment franchises.