International News: Suncorp Stadium To Get Pre-Olympics Overhaul; Rolling Loud Thailand Nixed & More

AUSTRALASIA

by Christie Eliezer

AUSTRALIA

Suncorp Stadium For “Next Generation” Upgrade

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium is set for a major “next generation” upgrade before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Queensland government announced.

The 52,500-seater rated fifth-best performing Australian stadium in Pollstar’s latest rankings.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told the Brisbane Courier Mail, “I’m not talking about just normal bare bones main­tenance, I’m talking about a proper investment into the stadium.”

An increased capacity is part of the thinking.

Established in 1914 as Lang Park, the rectangular sports and entertainment venue was last given a major revamp in 2003, the year Legends Global took over management.

Legends Global APAC chairman Harvey Lister forecast it “costing the hundreds of millions of dollars, but investing in venue renovations that make commercial sense is something our organisation does around the world.”

Festival Patron Wins Compensation For Strip Search

The Supreme Court ordered the New South Wales government to pay a festival patron A$93,000 ($61,391) in damages after she was illegally strip-searched by police at the gates of the 2018 Splendour In The Grass festival.

Raya Meredith, 27, and post-partum at the time, was asked to remove a tampon while naked.

The figure included “aggravated damages for assault, battery and false imprisonment.”

Meredith is also the lead plaintiff in a class action of 3,000 people who allege illegal strip searches at music festivals by NSW Police from 2016 to 2022.

In 2022, it was reported that police strip-searched over 100 children and 4,400 adults in two years, some as young as 13.

The Kid LAROI Exclusively Headlining AO Live

The Australian Open 2026 snared an exclusive headliner by Australian-born US-based rapper The Kid LAROI for its concert series AO Live.

He plays the 10,500-seat John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park on Jan. 28. 

The rest of the Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 series, promoted by the Untitled Group, are alt-rock band Spacey Jane, pop duo the Veronicas with U.S. duo Sofi Tukker, and South Korean DJ Peggy Gou.

The series drew 30,000 in 2025, with the A$99 ($65.35) tickets also allowing access to the day matches.  A number of other music events also take place.

By including bars, retail shops and interactive games “for visitors seeking other experiences”, the Australian Open this year reached a record 1.21 million after 1.1 million in 2024.

NSW Venues Set Up New Lobby Alliance

New South Wales venue operators, including Century Venues, the Oxford Art Factory, Crowbar Sydney and La La La’s, have formed the Live Music Venues Alliance.

It will collaborate with government, businesses and the private sector as a lobby group, think tank and catalyst for new opportunities.

With the art of tax reform as first priority, chair Mark Gerber, founder of the Oxford Art Factory, explained, “Live music venues are the beating heart of our cultural sector. Yet rising costs, regulatory pressures and a broader nightlife decline are leaving too many venues to fight for survival on their own.”

NEW ZEALAND

Festivals Liquidators Head To Court

Blacklock Rose, liquidators for the Juicyfest and Timeless Summer Tour, were heading to court in October to determine entitlement and liabilities before issuing a second creditor’s report, Stuff reported.

The two summer festivals, to play New Zealand and Australia, went into liquidation March 2025 with debts of NZ$2 million ($1.16 million).

Liquidators told Stuff a major issue is to get refunds for thousands of customers, who, as unsecured creditors, look like being the last to be refunded after at least 25 other creditors.

ASIA

by Phil Brasor

INDIA

Smashing Pumpkins Nix India Shows

The Smashing Pumpkins cancelled two concerts that were set to take place in India, the band’s first-ever shows on the subcontinent. About a week before they were to take place, Billy Corgan and company called off an Oct. 11 performance in Bangalore and one on Oct. 12 in Mumbai due to unforeseen circumstances, according to the Times of India.

The band had included India on its Rock Invasion 2025 Tour, but on Oct. 4, posted a message on its Facebook page with an update of the tour that had removed the India dates. “Due to unexpected logistical challenges and conditions out of our control, we have to cancel our two upcoming shows in Bangalore and Mumbai,” said the post. Because of these conditions the members would not be able to perform “up to the standards” their fans should normally expect.

The Rock Invasion 2025 Asia Tour started in September with a number of shows in Japan and then went on to Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. It was the band’s first concerts in Japan in 12 years, first in Korea in 15 years, and first in Thailand in 30 years. The band is also expected to play in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

THAILAND

Rolling Loud Thailand Called Off

Logistics with an opposite effect may have also had something to do with the cancellation of the hip-hop festival Rolling Loud Thailand. Though tickets had already gone on sale for the festival, when another edition of Rolling Loud was announced for India on November 22-23 in Mumbai, the Thailand edition, slated for November 14-16, was subsequently called off. Festival organizers quickly provided refund instructions for those who had already bought tickets. However, according to Lifted Asia, many of those people had also already booked flights and hotel rooms.

Lifted Asia also reports that there are rumors that the festival may be rescheduled for April, though the likelihood isn’t guaranteed. The last time it took place in the spring, temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting a crush at first-aid stations.

JAPAN

Venerable Tokyo Amp Closes For Renovations

One of Tokyo’s oldest and most venerated concert venues, Hibiya Yaon, an outdoor amphitheater in Hibiya Park, which is adjacent to the Imperial Palace grounds, has finally closed its gates for much-needed renovation that will keep it closed until 2029 at the earliest. The honor of playing the final concert went to veteran rock band Elephant Kashimashi, which has played there many times before over the previous decades.

The current incarnation of Yaon, which means “outdoor music,” first opened in 1983. According to the Tokyo Weekender, improvements to the venue will include better soundproofing to reduce noise in the surrounding park, barrier-free access and an overhead structure so that performances can take place on rainy days.

The amphitheater accommodates about 3,000 and has been extensively used for civic gatherings and other non-music events. The original structure opened in 1923, two months before the Great Kanto Earthquake, which it miraculously survived. It has subsequently become a stage where some of Japan’s most historically relevant concerts took place, including a charity show by Frank Sinatra in 1962 during his first trip to Japan; the 1975 farewell concert for the rock band Carol, which launched the career of singer Eikichi Yazawa; and the final show of the first female idol trio the Candies. The late singer-songwriter Yutaka Ozaki famously broke his leg at Yaon in 1984 while leaping from a lighting scaffold.

KOREA

New President Launches Culture Initiative

Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, has assembled a Committee on Popular Culture Exchange that held a ceremony on Oct. 1 in the city of Goyang with lots of exhibits related to K-pop groups and merchandise.

A co-chairperson of the committee is J.Y. Park, the founder of JYP Entertainment, one of K-pop’s biggest agencies, which counts among its charges Stray Kids, Twice and 2PM. During the presentation in front of the president, Park stressed the committee’s ambition. “Coachella is the world’s leading festival,” he said, according to the Korea Herald. “Our goal at the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange is to create a festival that surpasses even Coachella.”

Later in his presentation, Park asserted that “What is most Korean has become the most global. I hope Korea, through the power of its culture, will play a leading role in advancing world peace.” Park’s implication, and thus the implied role of the committee, is to tap “government capabilities” to enhance the creative expertise of the private sector through “cultural exchange, expanding cooperation and driving the growth of related industries.” That morning, in fact, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the committee had partnered with 26 private entities to “help guide the nation’s pop culture policies.” These entities include creators, producers, investors and academics from seven fields: pop music, gaming, webtoons (digital comics typically enjoyed on smartphones), movies, food and beauty and investment/policy. Representatives of the country’s biggest K-pop agencies, including Hybe and YG Entertainment, are on the committee.

In the 1990s and 2000s, government subsidies and policies were considered central to the rise of South Korea’s movie industry into the most powerful one in Asia before a U.S. free trade agreement did away with government support, though by that time, the industry was strong enough to stand on its own. It wasn’t until the COVID pandemic forced people to stay out of movie theaters that the industry failed to meet its growth targets. The goals of the Presidential Committee seem to be similar in purpose.