Tourism has forked out an extra $50,000 for the Jose Carreras concert because the venue has moved from Dockyard to the Fairmont Southampton hotel.

And the Department yesterday changed a website advert which was still claiming the famous tenor would be playing Dockyard after The Royal Gazette pointed out the mistake.

But shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the Carreras advert was “misleading” and similar to the “false advertising” furore surrounding the use of a beach from Hawaii in an official Department of Tourism publicity campaign.

And there was confusion last night about who would accompany the world famous tenor on stage.

Mr. Carreras was originally scheduled to perform with the 70-strong Vienna-based Weiner Sinfonie Orchestra, and the Tourism website yesterday said this was still the case.

But local co-ordinator Rick Richardson said yesterday the singer would be accompanied by a small, unknown number of string instruments.

And New York-based promoter Karl Hofer said there would only be a single piano.

The Department confirmed yesterday that it was contractually obliged to sponsor the event by $245,000 but had increased this by $50,000 “because of expenses incurred to produce the event, i.e. date and venue change”.

The statement said “all monies spent by the Bermuda Government and given to the producers of this event have been satisfactorily accounted for”.

The world famous opera singer was originally scheduled to play the Maritime Museum brig Dockyard on April 4 with the Weiner Sinfonie Orchestra, but this was postponed because of the war in Iraq.

In March, the concert was changed to tomorrow night at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel and Mr. Carreras will perform with an unknown number of string instruments.

Until yesterday, the Tourism website still advertised that the concert would take place at Dockyard with the Weiner Sinfonie Orchestra. The venue was changed on the website to the Fairmont Southampton yesterday.

But the poster link on the site still includes the original poster advertising Mr. Carreras performing at Dockyard.

The concert has sold out, but the Department was unable to say how many tourists had bought tickets.