Asia News: Malaysia Coronation Cancels Fest; Seoul Arena Breaks Ground

MALAYSIA

Good Vibes Cancels Due To Coronation Conflict

Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival 2024 has been canceled, according to local media, so as to avoid any overlap with the coronation ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim, which takes place July 20, the same day that the two-day pop festival was to begin at Resort World Awana in Genting Highlands.

The announcement was made by the organizers of the festival, who received a letter from relevant authorities dated June 27 that “large-scale performances featuring international artists are not permitted on 20 July,” according to Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur, because “His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia” will be coronated that day. In the letter, the authorities stressed “the significance of the coronation and the need to maintain … decorum.”

In its announcement the festival organizers, Future Sound Asia, said that the event will “not to be postponed to a later date,” since that would require rescheduling “multiple touring acts over multiple days,” which would not be possible. Among the acts who had been confirmed for the festival were Peggy Gou, Joji, Russ, J Balvin and BIBI.

Some observers had remained skeptical that the festival could make a full return after last year’s edition was canceled by the authorities following the first day when The 1975 headlined and leader Matty Healy went into a public rant about the government’s anti-LGBTQ stance. However, Future Sound Asia says they will endeavor to bring the festival back next year.

Bruno Mars Faces Backlash For Alleged Pro-Israel Stance

The Star reports that some Malaysian fans of Bruno Mars have decided not to attend his September 17 concert in Kuala Lumpur due to the American singer’s alleged support of Israel in the ongoing Gaza War. Several fans told the Star that they were planning on buying tickets when they learned that Mars had performed in Tel Aviv. “[He] should step forward and condemn the Israeli government,” said one 24-year-old social media manager, “as there have been many instances of the Israel military committing atrocities against Palestinians.” Another Mars fan said she would instead use the money to buy tickets for the upcoming Dua Lipa and Lany concerts.

Nevertheless, there doesn’t seem to be any notion that the Mars concert will be canceled, though it’s likely that pro-Palestinian groups—Malaysia is a majority Muslim country—will demonstrate outside the venue. Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Malaysia, a “non-violent Palestinian-led movement” that promotes economic sanctions against Israel, has, according to the Star, called for a boycott of Mars’ concert.

In Mars’ favor, some fans have pointed out that, while he did perform in Israel, Mars has never expressed explicit support for the Israeli military or its actions. Mars last performed in Malaysia in 2018.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul Arena Breaks Ground

Construction of the Seoul Arena, a mid-sized performance venue being built specifically for K-pop concerts that can seat more than 18,000 people, was supposed to start last fall, but the groundbreaking ceremony was delayed until this year, according to the Korea Times. The tech giant, Kakao, which has partnered with the Seoul city government to set up the arena, initially postponed the start of construction due to “an increase in cost.” The newspaper reports that Kakao had “faced allegations” that it had been giving “preferential treatment” to one particular construction company for the project, but a subsequent internal audit revealed that the allegations “were not true.” In the end, Kakao chose Hanwha Engineering & Construction as its partner.

Consequently, the groundbreaking ceremony was held July 2 in the Dobong District of northeastern Seoul, attended by the mayor, Kakao’s CEO, and some 250 other persons. Originally, it was hoped that the venue would open by the end of 2025, but with the delay the opening has been moved back to sometime in 2027.

Seoul Arena, which can be expanded depending on the circumstance to hold as many as 28,000 people and includes a smaller performance hall with 2,000 seats, will be the first arena in South Korea dedicated to popular music concerts. The city hopes that it will draw 2.5 million “hallyu” (Korean wave) tourists a year.

The Korea Times also reports that another new concert-specific venue being planned for Goyang in Gyeonggi Province has “faced a setback.” The city’s CJ LiveCity, a 20,000-seat arena that was being planned in conjunction with CJ ENM, one of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies, has yet to get off the ground after the city and CJ ENM terminated their agreement mainly due to funding problems. The provincial government told the Korea Times that it would “pursue business with a new vision and method.”

Kanye Books Korean Concert

Several Korean media outlets have confirmed that Kanye West will hold a solo concert at Goyang Stadium in the province of Gyeonggi on August 23. It will be West’s first-ever solo concert in South Korea. He once performed there in 2010 as part of a music festival called Summer Week&T. West’s concert will be in conjunction with a listening event he is holding in Korea for his album, Vultures, a collaborative effort with the singer Ty Dolla $ign that was released in February. The organizer of the concert is Channel Candy with help from Channel Candy’s parent company Nextis and festival brand Le Grand.