Bon Jovi has had to cancel its first concerts in China after officials learnt that a picture of the Dalai Lama had featured in a video backdrop in a concert five years ago.

According to The Financial Times, the abrupt cancellation of two concerts next week in Shanghai and Beijing — with tickets ranging from Rmb480 to Rmb3,880 ($75 to $600) — came about when the Communist party's Culture Ministry acted after discovering that Bon Jovi once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010.

The Chinese government regularly bans artists, academics and political leaders from going to China if they are seen as supportive of the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan independence movement.

Björk and Maroon 5 have also had concerts cancelled in the country.