Asia: EDC China, Festival Growing Pains, Basketball Scalpers, Record Rugby

The electronic music event EDC Guangdong took place in the populous Chinese city over the weekend of Nov. 26, featuring some of the world’s most in-demand DJs, including Zedd, Dimitri Vegas, Infected Mushroom, Tiesto and Steve Angello. 

Though the event went off without a hitch, some locals were concerned by a flyer that was circulated among the acts in English stating: “Beware. No swearing or bad language on the microphone during your performance today, or you risk being detained by the local police. You have been warned!”

According to Digitalmusicnews.com, the performers were not told of this restriction prior to the concerts. One participant told the website that the prohibition applied not only to DJ exhortations (“get your f*** hands up!”) but also to “swear words in the songs themselves, hence why rappers aren’t cleared to really perform in China.”

One DJ, Jacob Stanczak, better known as Kill the Noise, told the site that he saw local police “enjoying” the festival, taking photos with fans and dancing to the music. 

He also said there were DJs who broke the swear rule. 

“I heard more than one DJ play songs with profanity and they didn’t do anything.”

The New York Times reports that as music festivals become ever more popular throughout Asia, local authorities are cracking down more on their presentation. 

The newspaper estimates that in China alone there has been more than 150 electronic music festivals this year. In 2016 there were only 32. 

But while young people seem as if they can’t get enough of live music, local governments in Asia tend to be conservative and consider festival “threats to public safety, political stability or social and religious values.”

Except for Japan and South Korea, the idea of a party with multiple participants is frowned upon in most Asian countries. As one Taiwanese festival director told the paper, “The authorities wouldn’t want to take responsibility because a festival, to them, is like a liability.”

A case in point is the annual Quest festival in Hanoi. 

This year’s edition was canceled by local authorities only hours before it was to begin with no explanation given, stranding acts that had traveled from all over Southeast Asia to perform. In September, seven people died of drug overdoses at a different music festival in Hanoi.

The article went on to list a number of recent music festivals in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and cities in China that were called off for various reasons usually having to do with drugs or the fear of drugs. 

However, as with the Quest festival, in many cases authorities do not bother explaining the reason for a cancellation since few promoters tend to question for fear of further problems down the road. 

In China, however, the reasons are clear: Fear of subcultures and large crowds.

The organizers of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan are reporting record demand for tickets. From January to September of this year, about 2.5 million applications for tickets were received, and from Sept. 19 to Nov. 12, another 2 million applications were sent.

That’s 4.5 million applications for 300,000 tickets, with 40 percent of the applications coming from outside Japan.

Many of the remaining tickets will go on sale Jan. 19 on a first-come, first-serve basis, so there are still chances for rugby fans to get seats. 

There will also be additional tickets made available throughout 2019 through “handbacks from sponsors and official resale,” according to Insidethegames.biz. 

The Rugby World Cub 2019 “is shaping up to be a very popular, special and game-changing” event, said World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont at a special press event. 

“The incredible demand for tickets demonstrates that Asia’s first Rugby World Cup has truly captured the imagination of fans around the world.”

A panel of the Lower House of the Japanese national assembly on Nov. 30 approved a bill that would ban ticket scalping for concerts and sporting events as a safeguard measure in the runup to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The legislation was expected to pass in the Lower House the following week and then go on to the Upper House.

Currently, there is no national law to regulate online scalping of tickets for popular events, according to Kyodo News Service, though scalping on the street and other public areas is prohibited under local laws depending on the municipality. 

The bill will prohibit resale of tickets at prices higher than their original face value. It also will expressly prohibit receipt of tickets for the purpose of scalping. Violators could face up to one year in jail and a fine of 1 million yen ($8,800) or both.

Tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics will go on sale next year, and subject to the new ban are tickets that designate seats in advance or the name of the holder. 

The bill will also require event organizers to endeavor to identify ticket holders.

Individuals, however, will still be allowed to resell their tickets in the event they cannot attend the event due to scheduling difficulties.

Police in Manila arrested nine scalpers at the Mall of Asia Arena Dec. 1 as they tried to resell tickets for the first of three UAAP Season 81 final games between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons, the most highly anticipated amateur basketball event of the year in the Philippines. 

A police representative told the Rappler, “Most of the people who will attend the games are students. It’s such a pity if students will have to pay 10 to 20 times the ticket value to watch, considering they live on measly allowances. We will arrest scalpers anywhere this series goes. We may even get the masterminds. So I am warning these opportunists: Stop because we will get you.” 

The nine men were arrested for violating City Anti-Scalping Ordinance 192 under the instructions of the Southern Police District.

The police said that the finals are so popular that “even our foreign embassy guests” are on the lookout for tickets. 

“It’s a shame if they can’t get any because syndicates have cornered [the market on] tickets to sell at higher prices.” 

Standing-room-only tickets went on sale several minutes before the first game started and “quickly sold out.”