Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler have called off their planned fundraiser concert for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after organizers struggled to sell enough tickets for the event.
The concert was scheduled to take place at the Ed Sullivan Theater, one week after the final episode of Stephen Colbert, with proceeds intended to support Mamdani’s political mission.
However, months of disappointing ticket sales ultimately forced organizers to cancel the event.
The fundraiser had been promoted as a major night of entertainment and political fundraising, with Streisand and Midler expected to headline the evening. Organizers had hoped the involvement of two legendary performers would attract supporters willing to pay premium prices for the opportunity to attend.
Instead, interest remained extremely limited.
Tickets were reportedly priced at $1,500 for the entry-level option, while premium packages were listed at $6,000 and $7,000.
According to a source familiar with the event, only 10 tickets had been sold during the previous six months, leaving organizers with little choice but to call off the fundraiser.
The low turnout quickly became a topic of discussion among political observers in New York.
Alex Bruno of the NYC GOP criticized the organizers for setting ticket prices so high and questioned whether enough New Yorkers would be willing to spend thousands of dollars on a political fundraiser.
“It wasn’t easy to expect that New Yorkers would pay thousands of dollars to support a political agenda,” Bruno said. “Those days are over, and they expected New Yorkers to do what?”
Bruno said the ticket prices appeared to make the event accessible only to a very small group of wealthy donors.
“You’re asking someone to spend $1,500 just to walk through the door,” he said. “Then you’re talking about $6,000 or $7,000 for premium tickets. That’s a huge amount of money for one evening.”
The cancellation is particularly notable because both Streisand and Midler have long histories of participating in political and charitable events. Their involvement was expected to give the fundraiser considerable visibility and attract supporters from across New York.
Instead, the lack of ticket sales became impossible to ignore.
Organizers reportedly hoped that interest would increase as the event approached, but the expected surge never materialized.
For supporters of Mamdani, the cancellation represents a disappointing end to what was supposed to be a high-profile fundraiser. For critics, however, the empty seats became a symbol of the difficulty involved in selling expensive political events to a broader audience.
Bruno said organizers should have reconsidered the pricing strategy much earlier.
“If you want ordinary New Yorkers to support something, you have to give them a realistic way to participate,” he said. “Not everybody can spend several thousand dollars on a concert ticket.”
The planned event will now not take place, leaving organizers to reconsider how they raise money for Mamdani’s political efforts.
For Streisand and Midler, the cancellation means one less performance on the calendar. For the organizers, it raises a much bigger question about whether celebrity appearances and extremely high ticket prices are enough to generate enthusiasm for political fundraising events.
In this case, the answer appears to have been no.