The organisers of the Parkpop free festival in The Hague have dropped their second headliner – Jamaican reggae singer Beenie Man – following protests from gay rights groups.

Beenie Man was brought in to replace American rapper Snoop Dogg, banned by city officials last week because of fears his presence would disrupt the ‘friendly’ atmosphere of the festival.
Beenie Man has been scrapped from the bill because of the storm of protests from gay rights groups, the festival organisers said.
He was heavily criticised by main sponsor Pepsico for performing an anti-gay song at a reggae concert in Uganda last December and was dropped from a New Zealand festival in January following pressure from gay rights groups.
Gangs
Meanwhile, The Hague’s mayor Jozias van Aartsen said on Monday the decision to ban Snoop Dogg was taken because of fears that rival gangs might attend his performance and disrupt the festival.
Snoop Dogg’s management issued a statement last week saying the rapper is astonished by the ban, pointing out that he is a regular on the European festival circuit and has never been associated with crowd trouble.