I'm not trying to comment on what the organisers _meant_; I'm just saying that what they _said_ they meant doesn't match up with what they did, which obviously makes them look either dishonest or stupid, and is likely to cause bad feeling (and indeed, did exactly that). It's entirely possible that they had some entirely undisclosed motive for the whole thing which I haven't even thought of; obviously I can only comment on what I've seen them claiming.