25,000 tickets in the trash as Dotcom cancels birthday bash

Kim Dotcom has been forced to cancel his extravagant birthday party at the Vector Arena next week in a bid to avoid breaching electoral laws.

After 25,000 Kiwis signed up to the bash, the Megaupload founder reversed his decision, insisting the purpose of the event could be misconstrued.

"I apologize, my friends. Sadly we must cancel my birthday party after we received advice that the event could risk breaching electoral laws," Dotcom told fans.

"Because the tickets were free, we were advised that the purpose of the event could be misunderstood.

"I would like to thank the 25,000 people who registered for my birthday party. You are all amazing!

"I was looking forward to an awesome event with great live music and other surprises – but the future of New Zealand is more important to me than one night of fun. I hope you agree. So we are moving forward with the Internet Party!!"

Dotcom's Twitter reaction to the news:

I'm really sad right now :-(

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) January 16, 2014