Lance Armstrong pulls out of today's scheduled Dublin conference appearance

Lance Armstrong has pulled out of an appearance at the One Zero Conference in Dublin. The 44-year-old had been due to feature in a “no holds barred” interview with journalist Ewan MacKenna, but cancelled on the advice of his legal team.

Armstrong last month invited Irish journalist Paul Kimmage to take over as chief interviewer – an offer which Kimmage declined. Armstrong then made an occasionally tense appearance on NewsTalk’s Off the Ball podcast which seemed to offer a taster of what was to come at the sports and tech conference.

However, yesterday an official statement announcing his withdrawal from the event said:

“Armstrong, who had been contracted to speak at the event since August, cancelled on the advice of his legal team due to the upcoming Federal court case brought against him on behalf of the US Postal Service.

“The organisers received communication from Armstrong’s team earlier today, stating he was no longer willing to travel to Ireland and participate in the planned interview with Ewan MacKenna.”

Thejournal.ie reports that tickets for One Zero cost €175 for a general admission day ticket up to €775 for a VIP ticket with priority seating and VIP events.

A number of people have asked for their money back, but on the latest edition of Off the Ball, One Zero co-founder Richie Barrett said: “We sold tickets on the basis that this was One Zero sports and tech conference – there are 37 speakers, 20 international… Glastonbury is about more than Beyoncé, One Zero is about more than Lance.”