The funds allocated for organizing rapper Snoop Dogg’s concert have yet to be returned to Armenia’s state budget, according to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MoESCS), as reported by Hetq.

At a January 8 press conference, MoESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan stated that the ministry had officially requested that the company “Doping Space” return the full amount allocated for the canceled concert to the state budget.

“They were in negotiations throughout the year and, at different times, certain agreements were made but not fulfilled for various reasons. This means that the contract terms must now apply. Since the concert did not take place within the scheduled timeframe, we have formally requested the full refund,” said Andreasyan.

In response to a Hetq inquiry, Deputy Minister Daniel Danielyan noted that no new proposals have been received from “Doping Space” regarding the concert. The ministry has called on the company to take the necessary steps to mutually terminate the contract and transfer both the allocated amount and the stipulated penalty—under clause 2.4.11—to the state treasury account.

Nearly four months since the minister’s announcement, MoESCS is still waiting for the company to comply.

In July 2023, it was announced that world-famous rapper Snoop Dogg would perform in Yerevan on September 23. The contract was valued at 2.318 billion AMD, or approximately 6 million U.S. dollars, intended to cover the artist’s fee, technical requirements, security, insurance, equipment, and promotional expenses.

Following Azerbaijan’s large-scale attack on September 19 and the resulting depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the concert organizers condemned Baku’s actions and postponed the September 23 event. The concert was never held, and the funds have not yet been returned to the state budget.