HAVANA, Cuba, (AFP) — Seven Cuban officials with state-run music organisations have been punished after helping organise a Halloween party last week where an Adolf Hitler costume won first prize, officials said.

The deputy director of the Cuban Rock Agency was removed from his job and two other employees were fired from the organisation over the Halloween celebration held in Havana on October 28, Cuban Institute of Music in a press release on Friday.

The agency’s director and three top officials at the music institute who were “responsible for the approval, evaluation and control of cultural programming” also faced unspecified disciplinary measures, the press release said.

According to a report by the pro-government media outlet Cuba Debate, the Nazi leader’s costume received the top award at the party to “applause and ovations,” triggering a storm of public criticism.

Closed after the incident, the Maxim Rock cultural centre that hosted the Halloween party was set to reopen Saturday.