Several concert venues in Moscow have reportedly refused to host a concert commemorating slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

The refusal has led organizers to instead hold a marathon television program honoring Nemtsov on the Dozhd channel.

Olga Shorina, a former press secretary for Nemtsov, initiated the idea to hold a large concert with many performers honoring Nemtsov, who was gunned down near the Kremlin on February 27.

Shorina told the Kommersant daily on April 2 that the event was planned for April 7, the 40th day since Nemtsov's death, an important day in Orthodox Christianity in remembering the deceased.

Popular Russian radio journalist Mikhail Kozyrev, who agreed to organize the concert, said on Facebook on April 2 that although some rock musicians had agreed to participate, every venue refused to host it.

Nemtsov's friends and colleagues will instead share memories of the political activist on television.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was one of President Vladimir Putin's harshest critics and an opponent of the Kremlin's interference in Ukraine.

Based on reporting by Kommersant and TVrain.ru