Red Bull race at St Petersburg cancelled day before start - what happened ?

[WHBM]

Am sat here in St Petersburg, Russia, having found that the Red Bull Air Race, due last Saturday 17 June with a practice the Friday before, had been cancelled on the Thursday afternoon. Huh !

There's only a bland statement about all this on the Red Bull website. Huge crowds were expected along the St Petersburg waterfront. The fares on BA from London for the weekend had skyrocketed up several weeks beforehand from the usual GBP 300 to nearer GBP 900 for the cheapest Y fare so there must have been a lot of traffic coming for it (fortunately local operator Pulkovo Airlines maintained their normal fares on their London flights).

It's all a shame. Sport aviation has little background in Russia and it would have been a great shopwindow. But who was difficult at the last minute, and why ?

[ETOPS]

Why? Just ask Red Bull - this is on their website...

One day before the first training above the Neva in front of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg the safety committee of the “Red Bull Air Race” decided to cancel the race. Due to delays in last minute concerning authority permissions both the high and time intensive quality and the security standards of Air Race could no longer be granted.

[WHBM]

ETOPS I am sorry but that is just the *bland statement* I described. And it sounds like waffle. I would have hoped for a real explanation from them. It is after all meant to be a publicity project for the sponsors and they have ended up with hundreds of thousands hacked off at their name now.

[StarWinder]

ETOPS:

Could you translate the Germano-Russian syntax of your quote into English, please?:{