An event in Brussels by Europe’s hard-right elite featuring Nigel Farage and Viktor Orbán ended ignominiously and dramatically before it even started, with the former on stage when police stormed the venue and broke up the rally.

The National Conservatism Conference was due to host Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and British politician Nigel Farage over the next two days, but police arrived two hours after the event at Claridge’s Place, near the European Quarter, to inform organizers that the event will terminate

“The authorities have decided to shut down the event due to the possibility of it leading to public disorder,” a police officer told one of the organizers. Brexit architect Nigel Farage was due to give a keynote address at 11am.

When he took the stage, and while episodes were unfolding outside the venue, Farage slams Brussels authorities as ‘simply monstrous’ because they tried to cancel the event.

“I knew I wouldn’t be welcome back in Brussels,” the former MEP said.

“This is a tin dictatorship,” Frank Füredi, one of the organizers from the right-wing think tank MCC, which is also supporting the event, told POLITICO. “They are trying to use a technical reason to make a political point. They told the owner that if he doesn’t close, they will cut off the electricity.”

A little more than an hour after first arriving, police returned at about 12:45 p.m. to deliver an official mandate to local event organizer Anthony Gilland, MCC chief of staff. Police gave him 15 minutes to read and sign the three-page document.

“One of the reasons we were moved is that there will be a counter-demonstration this evening around 5pm and the police are not in a position to protect free speech at this event.” He added.

By 2 p.m., the standoff had continued for nearly three hours. Some of the attendees had left, but most stayed to listen to the rest of the panelists.

The Claridge’s venue was already the conference’s third-choice venue after the first venue, the Concert Noble, refused to host it under pressure from Socialist Brussels mayor Philippe Close, while the liberal mayor of Etterbeek put pressure on the luxury hotel Sofitel also cancel it.

Police told organizers there was a risk protesters could cause civil unrest at the venue later in the afternoon.

Guests had started arriving at the venue early on Tuesday, queuing for coffee, croissants and seats. The venue was filled with a crowd of attendees in blue and black suits, a mix of academics, students and dignitaries from around the world.

The organizers were proud of their victory over the Brussels leaders, but the feeling was short-lived. At around 11am, shortly before Farage’s scheduled speech, police began to spread across the venue.

Other guests at the event included Suella Braverman, the former UK home secretary, and Eric Zemmour, a far-right firefighter who is running for president of France in 2022.

The NatCon conference is organized by the Edmund Burke Foundation, a right-wing think tank.