It was scheduled for 3.30pm to 5pm in the Octagon yesterday.
The gathering was planned in response to community calls following the death of the 16-year-old Trinity Catholic College pupil in a stabbing at the Dunedin bus hub a week ago, the council said on Thursday.
However, in a statement on social media yesterday afternoon, the council said it had "reflected and spoken with other parties who have been helping to organise this, and we all agree the vigil is not appropriate at this time."
"We recognise other schools and organisations have been holding their own events, which is helping to bring people together, and we thank them for their mahi.
"The DCC will continue to offer support around the bus hub as we’ve been doing this week, along with other parties."
Dunedin resident Michael Gibson went to the Octagon yesterday with the intention of attending the vigil.
He labelled the cancellation a "mixture of incompetence and embarrassment".
Cancelling it about two hours before it was about to begin had not been enough time, he said.
Earlier in the day, the council backtracked on its initial statement that the whānau of Enere would be involved in the vigil, saying it apologised for "any misunderstanding".
The council declined to answer questions from the Otago Daily Times including whether it appropriately discussed the vigil with Enere’s whanau, or what informed the council’s decision to cancel the vigil so late in the day.
Enere’s funeral — scheduled on Tuesday at First Church — was initially planned to be live-streamed, but an updated funeral notice published yesterday said this was no longer the case.
