Due to all the controversy surrounding this year's Snow Gathering, the organizers of the event were left with no choice but to cancel this year's conference, which was to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, from March 7-11.
In a statement on its website, the organizers wrote: "FreeOnes.com is very sad to announce that the Snow Gathering 2007 has been cancelled! The organization sees no other option due to major recent developments like the Radisson Sas Saga Hotel revoking today its decision to receive the group at the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel has not been able to cope with the intense media and political pressure and decided to buckle down to the pressure of some groups who share the opinion that choosing your profession is out of the question, unless they support this profession."
According to news reports in Iceland earlier in the week, Mayor Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson requested that police investigate the attendees of the upcoming pornography conference, as there could be "child molesters and producers of child pornography at the venue." This statement was in response to a challenge posed by the rape-victims' organization Stígamót, which encouraged government officials to stop the conference from taking place.
FreeOnes did not support nor did it understand the decision taken by the hotel, since the company did its utmost to comply with all the wishes and demands requested by the hotel after the media explosion. "Legal assistance has been sought in this matter, since FreeOnes believes the cancellation and the consequent financial losses [both material and time wise] have been carried out without any legitimate or legal grounds," the statement read. "Despite of the legal counseling, the Snow Gathering cannot be held due to this last-minute hotel cancellation."
In the last few days, FreeOnes.com said it was, "under constant attack by a lot of people and groups; but, fortunately, there were also people—including a lot of Icelanders—that have shown their support to our event. FreeOnes.com would like to thank everybody who has been able to understand that the discussions in Iceland were not solely about the Snow Gathering, but about everybody who makes an honest living in this [adult] industry."
FreeOnes made it clear that all attendees will be contacted personally to notify them of the recent cancellation.
