Mall Stung By Sting

Sting is scheduled to perform in Manila Dec. 9, but a local environmental group convinced the British star to demand a venue change.

Originally, the Philippine leg of Sting’s “Back to Bass” tour was to take place at the Mall of Asia, but a group called Project Save 182 sent a petition to the singer’s agents saying that the conglomerate that owns the Mall of Asia was responsible for “uprooting 182 trees” in the northern city of Baguio for a parking lot and shopping mall expansion. 

 
Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, established the Rainforest Foundation in 1989 to support indigenous people by protecting their environment from commercial exploitation, particularly with regard to rainforests. 
 
The conglomerate SM, which is owned by Henry Sy, the richest man in the Philippines, responded saying, “The SM MOA Arena has nothing to do with the case in Baguio except for the fact that it is also under the same holding company as the Baguio branch. 
 
“However, with this letter to Sting, it seems that the activists behind Project Save 182 are bent on taking down the SM brand in general.”
 
In response, the local promoter, Ovation Productions, moved the concert to the Araneta Coliseum on the same day. 
SM has said that the move was “the decision of the artist himself.”