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.