Trouble reportedly started midway through Taiwanese Mandopop singer Maggie Chiang’s set, when a lightning warning was issued. Photos: Official Yuewen/Instagram, Akimoto Taiki/Instagram
Yuewen Music Festival received scathing reviews from attendees after the first of its three-day event at Siloso Beach, Sentosa, Singapore, on Dec 28.
The festival, organised by Chinese entertainment company Yuewen Group, has one more day to go on Dec 31, but attendees on the first day are already calling it a disaster on social media platforms including Reddit, Xiaohongshu, Instagram and TikTok. (The second day happened on Dec 29.)
The festival features a slate of Asian acts. On Dec 28, the line-up included Taiwanese Mandopop singers Maggie Chiang and Lala Hsu, K-pop girl groups Kiss Of Life, Itzy and Red Velvet’s sub-unit Irene & Seulgi, and Thai singer-actor idols Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul and PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn.
Trouble reportedly started midway through Chiang’s set, when a lightning warning was issued. Attendees were evacuated from the event area, and Chiang’s set was cut short. Netizens said they understood safety concerns regarding the weather, but one TikTok user claimed that Yuewen had “no wet weather plan”.
While Yuewen’s official Instagram account stated that holders of standard passes to the event were supposed to be able to take shelter at the Sapphire Pavilion at Siloso Beach, several attendees reported that they were ushered out onto the road, where there was no shelter available.
A Reddit user on the Singapore Raw forum alleged that organisers exposed attendees to a lightning risk and called the festival the “worst event” the user had attended.
Many standard-pass ticket holders also said they were made to queue and go through bag checks again when re-entering the event, after the lightning warning was lifted. This caused a long line to form outside the entrance, and several fans of K-pop girl group Kiss Of Life – the first group to perform after the event resumed – said they missed the quartet’s show while being stuck in the re-entry queue.
One user on Yuewen’s Instagram account wrote: “Ridiculous that you dispersed people in the queue due to the lightning warning and when resumed, (the) show started immediately with lots of people still waiting for entry outside.”
Another user said: “Came for Kiss Of Life, but couldn’t even get in during the performance because of horrible management (of the event).”
Some also complained that during Thai singer PP Krit’s set, part of his performance was blocked by rain tents the organisers had set up onstage.
The event did not allow attendees to take along umbrellas or water bottles, but also did not provide rain ponchos or drinking water. According to a Xiaohongshu user, ponchos reportedly cost S$12 (RM39.50), while a cup of water reportedly cost S$5 (RM16.50).
Many netizens were also upset with the number of advertisements that ran between acts, with some saying that 10 to 30 minutes of advertisements for sponsors and Yuewen’s own works played between the performances.
One comment written in Chinese on Yuewen’s Instagram account read: “We bought tickets to watch the artistes’ perform, we’re not here to watch your advertisements.”
Prices ranged from S$208 (RM685) to S$228 (RM750.90) for a standard one-day ticket and S$398 (RM1,310.80) for a premium one-day ticket.
The event had earlier been hit with criticisms. Its early-bird tickets were available from Oct 29 to Nov 9 at a 20% discount, but a later sale – from Nov 29 to Dec 2 during Black Friday and Cyber Monday – offered tickets at up to 40% off. The price difference angered many buyers of the early-bird tickets.
In response to the backlash, Yuewen Group issued a statement saying all outdoor performances, aside from the festival’s show on Dec 31, have to end by 10.30pm – which was why certain acts started their performances while many attendees were still waiting for re-entry.
The group has added six extra tents to the main entrance, where standard-pass ticket holders can seek shelter in the event of an evacuation due to weather conditions, and handed out free ponchos on Dec 29 when it rained.
The statement added: “In the event of unexpected weather, we will continue working with the police and the performing artistes’ teams to find solutions and ensure that every performance proceeds as scheduled.”
More acts, including K-pop boy band BigBang’s Daesung and Taeyang, as well as Japanese pop diva Mika Nakashima are expected over the following days. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
