One Love Asia Festival organisers come under fire for last-minute event changes

Organisers of One Love Asia Festival, Asia's flagship music event, have come under fire for its last-minute changes of the event dates, venues, and participating guests.

The three-day music extravaganza, which is being hosted in Hong Kong for the first time from 21 to 23 June at Central Harbourfront Event Space, will be rescheduled to 29 June until 1 July at AsiaWorld-Expo, Runway 11. The decision was made on 3 June, about two weeks away from the official launch of the event.

Consequently, the rearrangement has led to the reshuffle of the artist line-up. Taiwan singers Lala Hsu, Stefanie Sun, and rock band Power Station will be replaced by Hong Kong singers Joey Yung, Gareth T., and local band Bestards. The remaining artists will perform at a different time as well, according to the official statement.

Citing the recent adverse weather in Hong Kong, the organisers of the festival said this may affect concert go-ers at outdoor events, that's why they decided to move the festival to an indoor venue, ensuring fans to fully enjoy the performances.

However, this has drawn mixed reactions from netizens as some said they have already booked flights and hotels for the original plan of the festival. In response, the organisers said ticket holders will be eligible for a full refund or they can exchange the tickets for another date.

Social monitoring firm Meltwater saw over 153 mentions across social platforms from 2 June until 7 June, with 5.2% positive, 87.6% neutral and 7.2% negative sentiments. 

Meanwhile, media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 118 mentions online related to the incident, with 25.4% positive and 23.7% negative sentiments. 

CARMA's HK GM Charles Cheung said netizens were disappointed that this is not the first time mega event organisers have left fans infuriated and disappointed due to poor arrangements.

"Recent examples include Waterbomb, S2O, and The Nextwave, and many believed that 'unstable weather conditions' is not a legitimate excuse to justify sudden changes to the artist line-up. Some also expressed empathy for fans who had already booked flights and accommodation for the original event dates," he said.

"The majority of netizens feel that organisers of these large-scale events must significantly improve their preparation and contingency planning. The poor organisation of these events may have a long-term impact on Hong Kong’s tourism, leaving many to question whether the city is truly ready to host mega events," he added.

Keywords associated with the incident include "music festival", "disappointment", "impact", "change", "Joey Yung", "Lala Hsu", "Stefanie Sun", amongst others. 

Don't miss: Waterbomb HK slammed for queues chaos: How can organisers better manage audiences' expectations?

Most recently, the organisers of the Waterbomb Hong Kong music festival apologised after the event was delayed by an hour on Saturday and participants had to wait for hours to retrieve personal bags after the first day of the event.  

The two-day water-themed music festival, a well-liked Korean event centred around music and water fight, was held at the outdoor venue of AXA x Wonderland venue at West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong for the first time on 1 and 2 June.  

However, the organisers of the festival rescheduled the opening time of the event from 2pm to 3pm on 1 June due to adverse weather conditions. Photos and videos of long queues at the entrance went viral online, while some participants were still outside when the concert began, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on LIHKG.

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