Waterbomb Hong Kong music festival slammed by concertgoers after delayed start and queues chaos
- Organisers announce just an hour before the planned 2pm start that the event would be rescheduled to 3pm
- The delay causes queue chaos, with many still outside venue when the music finally started at the later time
Waterbomb Hong Kong said Tropical Storm Maliksi, which affected the city on Friday and Saturday, had caused severe damage to on-site facilities.
Organisers announced just an hour before the planned 2pm start on Saturday that the event would be rescheduled to 3pm, which led to long queues at the entrance and many ticket holders still outside when the concert finally began.
“In consideration of public safety, we have made adjustments to the admissions and performance schedule,” the company said on social media.
“After strenuous efforts to repair and reinforce, we promptly arranged for audience entry. We deeply apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The Observatory issued a No 3 typhoon signal on Friday afternoon which remained in force until it was downgraded on Saturday afternoon to a No 1 alert. All signals were cancelled at 5.40pm.
General admission tickets for both days cost HK$1,780 (US$228) while VIP ones were priced at HK$3,280.
Concertgoers vented their anger about the admission chaos on social media, with many still not inside by the time performances started.
One user on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese Instagram-like platform, said she arrived at the venue at 4pm and queued for hours without knowing where the end of the line was.
“It was absolutely chaotic with multiple queues and we didn’t know where the queues started or ended,” she wrote.
“The staff also didn’t know either, which is outrageous. Because it was raining while we were lining up, we were wet and cold.”
There was more chaos after the festival ended on Saturday night, with hundreds waiting for hours to get their bags back from the cloakroom.
Another user on social media platform Threads said she had queued, soaked by the rain, for more than three hours after the concert finished at around 10.30pm.
“It was raining and we were wet and cold, but our towels were inside our bags,” she wrote.
“We were in line for hours before staff handed us ponchos, which were useless.
“We waited until 1.30am, when the event ended at 10.30pm. The staff even mixed up my bag with others.”
Organisers on Sunday said they would suspend cloakroom services for the second day of the festival because of the damage to the facility.
“Disposable plastic bags will be distributed to participants,” the company said.
“In addition, the VIP audience will be receiving a pair of complementary goggles.
“We kindly ask all audience members to carry lightweight belongings, use waterproof bags, and keep valuables with them.”
Waterbomb, which started in South Korea, is one of the biggest summer music festivals, with concertgoers traditionally decked out in beachwear and armed with water guns.
The audience and the artists form opposing “armies” equipped with water guns and take part in mock battles.
The event came to Hong Kong for the first time this year. Waterbomb festivals have also been held in cities such as Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore and Dubai.
