Britain's oldest symphony has been forced to cancel its U.S. tour because of a demand it acquire 100 work visas at a cost of $78,615.
The only way the Manchester Halle Orchestra can obtain the work permits is if each member travels 185 miles to the U.S. Embassy in London for the necessary interviews and fingerprints, the BBC reported.
Orchestra Marketing Director Andy Ryans said the orchestra could not afford the high cost of the work visas nor pay for 100 trips to London.
"We knew that the rules regarding entry into the states, particularly on work visas, had changed. We appreciated the reasons for those changes," he said, "but ($78,000) is a very, very substantial proportion of what the overall costs were likely to be."
He called the cancellation "frustrating and sad," the BBC said.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
