A weekend concert at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre was cancelled because some concert-goers refused to remove their ceremonial daggers creating a threat to safety, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Management decided to cancel the concert by legendary Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan after "a number of ticket holders refused to comply with security measures," Heather Lundy said.

Concert-goers had to go through a security check area with a wand that beeps when it detects metal.

"Any sharp metal items are requested to be checked into the security area and then people can pick them up after," Lundy said in an email interview. "There was only one patron who did not want to comply with leaving his larger kirpan with security."

About 10 people arrived wearing the ceremonial dagger that baptized Sikhs must wear at all times, according to conference organizer Nirmal Dhaliwal. The sold-out event was packed with 2,500 people and another 500 were waiting in line when the decision was made to close it down at 9:30 p.m.

Asked why the centre didn't simply refuse entry to those who wouldn't give up their kirpans, Lundy replied "safety is our No. 1 priority for our guests and employees."

Dhaliwal conceded that his contract with the centre stipulated that no weapons were allowed inside the concert. But he said the daggers should not be considered weapons because they're something Sikhs always carry with them for religious reasons. The knives are even allowed inside Parliament, he pointed out.

Concert organizers are urged to tell the centre of any cultural or religious matters that should be addressed, Lundy said, adding that had the kirpan issue been raised before the concert, a compromise could have been reached.

The concert was not the first where kirpans were involved, Lundy said, but she did not elaborate on how the issue was dealt with in the past.

Dhaliwal has said he intends to sue the convention centre for loss of income, saying the cancellation amounts to discrimination. He hosted an impromptu show featuring Mann at a park in northeast Calgary on Monday and promised a refund to ticket holders who couldn't make it.