Hong Kong government adviser urges weatherproofing venue after 2 major concerts disrupted
- Lawmaker slams rescheduling of One Love Asia Festival as ‘unacceptable’ following online uproar over delay, venue change due to ‘recent weather’
A Hong Kong government adviser has called for the weatherproofing of the Central Harbourfront Event Space after poor conditions affected two major music festivals in a week, resulting in a concert delay which a lawmaker has slammed as “unacceptable”.
On Monday, organisers of the One Love Asia Festival announced that the three-day music event initially slated to kick off on June 21 would be delayed until June 29.
Singapore-based IMC Live Global, which has an office in Hong Kong, said the venue would also be changed from the Central Harbourfront Event Space to AsiaWorld-Expo after recent weather had affected other outdoor concerts in the city.
The public notice came two days after Tropical Storm Maliksi caused delays and queue chaos for the Waterbomb Hong Kong music festival, which was held at the outdoor AXA x Wonderland venue at the West Kowloon Cultural District.
Business magnate Allan Zeman, who sits on various government advisory boards, said on Thursday that the harbourfront event space was a “beautiful site” that drew a lot of promoters, but cautioned its lack of weatherproofing brought risks of last-minute cancellations.
“The weather’s not something we can control,” said Zeman, who worked in event promotion early in his career.
“If the government wants to guarantee something, I suggest we should at least put a cover on [the harbourfront venue]. You know, make it all-weather for God’s sake.”
The delay to the One Love Asia Festival sparked swift negative reactions online, with many overseas fans who were planning to attend expressing dismay that they could not shift flight and hotel bookings.
“Unbelievably unprofessional,” one Instagram user said of the delay. “Showcases that you had zero contingency planning – without considering weather patterns when picking venues [and] dates in the first place.”
“All my flights and hotels in Hong Kong are booked and cannot be refunded,” said one user on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese Instagram-like platform. “What am I supposed to do? I am so angry.”
IMC Live Global said that the measure would assure fans that they could “fully enjoy the performance of their favourite artistes, rain or shine”.
But the abrupt change in date led to some overseas artistes pulling out, including Singaporean singer-songwriter Stefanie Sun as well as Lala Hsu and rock band Power Station, both from Taiwan.
Hong Kong artistes Joey Yung, Gareth.T and Taiwanese group Bestards were announced as replacements, and the organiser said fans could request a full refund.
Tickets for the show ranged from HK$980 (US$125) for a single-day general admission ticket to HK$2,580 for a three-day premium one.
Legislator Vincent Cheng Wing-shun said on Wednesday he was disappointed with how IMC Live Global had handled the rescheduling, adding that blaming poor weather was unacceptable.
Cheng called for the organiser to provide partial compensation to those outside Hong Kong who had booked flights and hotels, saying the incident had damaged the image of the city’s tourism industry.
The festival was making its debut in the city, and was featured on the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s website.
But nightlife tycoon Zeman said such language from lawmakers would only push future promoters away at a time when Hong Kong was trying to host more mega events and reassert itself as a tourism destination.
“In this case, we are trying to encourage more shows and get Hong Kong back on track” he said. “I think it’s important that we look at having constructive views, especially from legislators, instead of being negative all the time.”
