Update: Several dozen white supremacists showed up at Hammerfest’s last-minute venue in Jacksonville on Saturday, December 7.

Hammerskin Nation, the group sponsoring the concert, was forced to move Hammerfest to an undisclosed location after officials and business owners in Daytona Beach, the original location, would not issue permits or host the event.

Police monitoring the concert reported no major incidents or arrests. The turnout was much smaller than past Hammerfests, which have been attended by hundreds white supremacists.

A national neo-Nazi skinhead group announced, and then scrapped plans for a "white power" music festival in Florida after it experienced difficulty obtaining a venue.

Hammerfest 2002 was originally scheduled to take place Dec. 7 - 8 in Daytona Beach, and had been widely publicized and discussed among neo-Nazi skinhead followers and white supremacists on the Internet.

But the planned location was changed suddenly this week after hosts for the event cancelled upon learning of its true nature. It was unclear whether the gathering would take place at all.

Concert organizers said in an e-mail that the concert venue had been moved to an undisclosed location in the Jacksonville area. The message instructed concertgoers to go to a hotel parking lot, where they would be given directions to the secret location.

This Hammerskin music festival is an annual gathering of members of Hammerskin Nation, a group identified by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as one of the nation's most violent and best organized neo-Nazi skinhead organizations. Previous assemblies have attracted hundreds of skinheads and likeminded bigots, which feature performances by white power bands whose violent lyrics promote beating and killing of non-whites, especially blacks and Jews.

Arthur Teitelbaum, Director of ADL's Southern Area Region, expressed concerns that the last-minute change of venue for the Hammerfest 2002 concert would allow organizers to avoid the scrutiny of law enforcement and the public.

"They are still coming to Florida, and their mission is to convey the message of hate and violence and white supremacy," Mr. Teitelbaum told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "That hasn't changed. Only the location has changed.

Mr. Teitelbaum said the gatherings offer skinheads an opportunity not only to spread a hateful message, but to recruit new members. "Hard rock is their style and bigotry is the beat," he said.

ADL and the local chapter of the NAACP raised concerns that the concert's hateful message, combined with a convergence of neo-Nazi skinheads from across the country, could

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inspire violence or other acts of hate. In the past, followers of Hammerskin Nation have been convicted of harassing and beating minorities after attending similar Hammerfest festivals. The 2001 Hammerfest in Bremen, Georgia, attracted about 300 skinheads.

Nine "white power" bands were scheduled to perform at this year's festival, including notoriously bigoted bands such as "Attack," "Definite Hate," "White Wash" and "Intimidation One."