TheNextwave's organisers reveal challenges and insights behind the HK$15m event

TheNextwave Beach Music Festival, dubbing itself as the largest-ever beach music carnival in Hong Kong, saw over 12,000 attendees gathering at Tai Pak Beach in Discovery Bay over the past weekend.

While the event may have been a commercial success, it has faced backlash from attendees and netizens alike due to the poor organisation and management by the event organisers NextWave Yachting and Yiu Wing Entertainment Group.

Media intelligence firm CARMA saw 54% of comments related to the event negative, indicating the extent of disappointment and frustration among attendees.

The comments primarily centered on the event's unreasonable policies and lack of transparency, with some attendees reporting the lack of crowd control measures onsite, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on The Nextwave’s official Instagram account.

The prohibition of certain items such as drinks and sunscreen spray was a major point of contention, with many attendees feeling that this policy was not adequately communicated beforehand. Moreover, numerous individuals reported experiencing rude and unacceptable behaviour from staff members, including instances of swearing and shouting.  

Food prices and crowd control concerns

Addressing the confusion that consumers and readers might have, a spokesperson from Nextwave Yachting said it was the first time for the organisers to create a one-of-a-kind beach music festival and the company understood there were still deficiencies in some aspects of the event including crowd control, stage size and others.

We apologise to those who were impacted negatively, and we hope to improve and be more transparent about the details of the venues for our upcoming events.

In fact, throughout the seven months of ideation and execution, Nextwave Yachting said the organisers struggled with various obstacles such as venue sourcing as there are not many private beaches in Hong Kong that can accommodate such a huge crowd. “Thanks to Discover Bay which agreed to lend its support to us, we shifted our focus in setting up a huge stage for the festival, but we understood that had limited the space for the audiences to stand and we will bear in mind next time,” the spokesperson added.

Unlike usual music concerts which only open doors at the starting time, the beach festival constantly took in participants throughout the day, which might lead to snaking queues around the area. “That’s why we had arranged more frequent buses and ferries to and from Discovery Bay, but we will make sure we double the number of onsite staff at the next event,” the spokesperson added.

Acknowledging participants’ concerns over the price of refreshments at the event, the spokesperson said food vendors had their freedom to set the final selling price for a product.

The vendors might have to consider the logistics such as shipping fresh food and drinks to the venue, which might end up increasing the selling price. However, we don’t think the food prices were extremely high and unaffordable.

In terms of staff misbehaviour, the spokesperson said the organisers have followed up with the parties involved in the incident and would ensure clearer internal communications among helpers and event staff. The spokesman added:

We sincerely accept all positive and negative comments, and we hope to improve in our upcoming events and share the joy with HongKongers, especially after three years of lockdown.

On the other hand, Yiu Wing Entertainment, the co-organiser of the beach music festival, said the company has engaged immediate action on site regarding reports on staff misbehaviours. "Event helpers were summoned and instructed with guidance. We will look into cases and provide correspondingly feedback will follow-up procedures," said Yiu Wing's spokesperson. 

Understanding the steaming hot weather and snaking queues during the event might upset some of the attendees, Yiu Wing's spokesperson said first aid teams, and emergency doctors were present at the venue to provide immediate medication for visitors. "The site was also divided into different areas including water sport area, chilling lounge which catered for different needs, over 300 large sun umbrellas were placed to shelter visitors."

Targetting the Gen Z segment and young professionals, Yiu Wing's spokesperson said the event has spent over HK$15m in terms of execution and it was a one-of-a-kind outdoor beach music festival in Hong Kong.

We will continue to improve every details to prefect entertainment occasions to all audiences. 

Photo courtesy: The Nextwave's Instagram

Related articles:

How are brand sponsors and supporters measuring ROI from their TheNextwave investment?
How are brand sponsors measuring ROI from their Clockenflap investment?