LONDON: A huge London concert that was to reunite Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan for the first time in more than 20 years was cancelled Tuesday as torrential rain turned the outdoor site into a mudbath.

The show celebrating the music of songwriter and producer Pete Waterman was meant to have taken place in Hyde Park in central London on Wednesday.

Fans had snapped up tickets to see 1980s Australian TV and music stars Minogue and Donovan reprise their 1988 hit duet “Especially for You”.

But the downpours that have soaked Britain for weeks combined with last weekend's Wireless music festival meant the site had become churned up, leaving organisers with no option but to cancel.

“The potential risk to staff and music fans was too great for the event to go ahead,” promoters Live Nation and the Royal Parks said in a statement, adding that ticketholders would receive refunds.

Steps, Bananarama and Rick Astley had also been due to perform at the Hit Factory Live event.

Pete Waterman plus the production team of Mike Stock and Matt Aitken and the PWL record label launched dozens of pop careers, including Minogue's.

Donovan and Minogue won wild popularity as couple Scott and Charlene in the soap opera “Neighbours” in the late 1980s and were a real-life couple at the same time - but their romance did not last.

Minogue went on to a stellar global pop career, and Donovan still performs as an actor and musician.