The plug has been pulled on an awards ceremony after it was revealed in that a host of famous names would not be attending.

Bahamian businessman Dr. Rudolph King landed on the Island last week and held a Press Conference during which he claimed Hollywood stars Halle Berry and Will Smith and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu would receive gongs at the glittering event.

But checks by this newspaper with the agents of the above actors and the personal assistant of Archbishop Tutu revealed they had no intention of attending and were not even aware of the ceremony due to be held at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel on June 30.

On Monday, Dr King?s organisation, the King Humanitarian and Global Foundation, issued the following statement: ?Please be advised that the 2006 Global Vision Award (sic) of Excellence, which was scheduled to be held on the 30th of June 2006 at the Fairmonth (sic) Southampton Resort has been postponed to a later date to be commenced.?

A spokeswoman for the Fairmont also confirmed that the ceremony, to be held in the hotel?s gala ballroom, was cancelled.

Doubt has been thrown on a number of other claims made by Dr. King since he announced his plan to hold the second annual Global Vision Awards on the Island.

He said he was invited to have the event here by Bermuda Alliance for Tourism (BAT) and the Bermuda Hotel Association. Both organisations said Dr. King approached them.

Wayne Smith, executive director of BAT, said a number of people had contacted BAT with concerns about the awards because they were unable to find information on the King Foundation, including a website.

?Dr. King advised me that his office has contacted these persons and addressed their concerns,? he said. ?He further advised me that his website has been down and that they have had server problems.?

Dr. King said he received a doctorate in economics from Cambridge University in 2000 but his name does not appear on a list of students who gained Ph.Ds at the university from 1998 to 2004, nor does another name he has been reported to use, Kermit Rudolph Casito Laroda.

He uses the title His Excellency as he says he is an ambassador for Dominica. The Government of that island has been unable to confirm the appointment.

In 2004, Dr. King appeared in court in the Bahamas accused of owing American Express more than $400,000. He told this newspaper the matter had been dealt with.

Dr. King could not be contacted for comment about the postponement of the awards but legal representatives from his office in Florida said he intended to speak to a lawyer about two stories which have appeared in the

?Do you realise that there are about three different agencies dealing with Archbishop Tutu,? said Sean Williams. ?I don?t think all your stories were accurate. This is very embarrassing to your country. You are basically harassing people.?