Dutch Brexit beach party suffers its own postponement

A Dutch beach party billed as a "symbolic chance to wave good-bye to Britain" as London battles to leave the European Union, has suffered its own postponement, organisers announced Saturday.

Thousands of people have already signed up for festivities at the seaside resort of Wijk aan Zee near Amsterdam scheduled for October 31, the current deadline for Britain to leave the EU.

But organisers said they had to postpone the event, set to feature bands and food trucks serving European specialities like Dutch chips, French wine and German beer.

"The idea of organising such a fun, large event within two-and-half months turned out to be a bit ambitious," organiser Ron Toekook said.

"It wasn't possible in such a short period to complete the financing needed, partly because companies' sponsorship budgets are depleted by the end of the year," he said in a statement.

But organisers were at pains to stress that "this is a postponement, not a cancellation." The party is now planned for early 2020, they said.

What started off as a joke on Facebook in August, quickly gathered steam "and grew into a serious event drawing thousands of interested people," said Toekook.

People who already paid the 19.73 euros entry fee, based on the date when Britain joined the European Economic Community, will be reimbursed as soon as possible, Toekook said.

EU leaders are expected to decide early next week on how long to postpone Brexit's deadline.