The four-date festival was to feature performers such as Ludacris, Akon Ray J and Jay Sean in Christchurch, Tauranga, Auckland and Wellington.
But ticketholders were emailed about the cancellation last week. It said the refund process was being worked through and offered transfers to the Australian leg of the tour that would “go ahead as planned”.
The New Zealand Herald reported a separate email from event promoters Timeless Group was also sent to suppliers.
A spokesperson wrote the festival had been cancelled due to “targeted efforts” to debilitate it, the Herald reported.
The email said they were “absolutely gutted”.
The spokesperson said opposition to gaining licences around the country had been the main problem, reported the Herald.
“As of Thursday night, Juicy Fest New Zealand only held a special licence for Tauranga, making it hard to progress further with other shows,” they said.
“Juicy Fest has faced tough opposition from authorities and police in running our event in New Zealand.”
The spokesperson revealed the Auckland leg had its special licence opposed by authorities.
“In our opinion, this has felt intentional to put a stop to Juicy Fest New Zealand. We fought this opposition and appeared at a hearing with the DLC.
“Our efforts to oppose the decision to not grant our special licence were unsuccessful and although we have appealed this, this appeal cannot be heard until after the Juicy Fest Tour is scheduled to end.”
The Herald reported that three police officers were assaulted and 12 people were arrested after “several disorder events” during Juicy Fest Auckland in January this year.