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Yuewen Music Festival called 'worst event ever' following complaints of poor management, cancelled performances
The first two days of the three-day-long music festival happened on Dec 28 and 29 at Sentosa’s Siloso Beach, and saw multiple attendees complaining of poor event management.
Yuewen Music Festival has received a lot of criticism of attendees, following the first two days of the three-day event. (Photos: TikTok/sjyunlvrr, Instagram/officialyuewen)
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5 min
Hazeeq Sukri
30 Dec 2024 12:00PM(Updated: 30 Dec 2024 12:04PM)Bookmark
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Read a summary of this article on FAST.
The inaugural Yuewen Music Festival, organised by Chinese entertainment conglomerate Yuewen, was supposed to cap 2024 on a high note with its lineup of global musicians such as Maggie Chiang, Itzy and Win.
However, many event-goers who attended the first two days of the festival on Dec 28 and 29 were unhappy with the experience, calling it “the worst event ever” – following complaints of poor management, long ads, cancelled performances and aggressive staff members.
Here are some of the main complaints made by attendees.
POOR MANAGEMENT FOLLOWING A LIGHTNING ALERT ON SATURDAY’S SHOW
The main point of grievance held by many attendees was an incident that happened on Saturday’s show. They said a lightning alert was issued during Taiwanese singer-songwriter Maggie Chiang’s set – cutting Chiang’s performance short.Attendees were then told to leave the venue which caused many to disperse out onto the unsheltered open road outside Siloso Beach, exposing them to the elements. Some even made their way to Beach Station to seek shelter.
However, according to TikTok user tombwithaview who attended the event, “it wasn’t raining” and upon checking NEA’s website, she claimed that the “only storm was mostly in the Jurong Island area”.
The user added that as she was leaving the festival grounds, she noticed that people at surrounding attractions such as AJ Hackett were still participating in their activities such as bungee jumping and swimming.
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Around 30 minutes after the event was halted, organisers announced that the festival had resumed – causing attendees to rush towards the entrance which sparked the next pain point.
Despite the large number of attendees queuing at the entrance, K-pop girl group Kiss Of Life started its set immediately. The group also had a shortened setlist due to the lightning alert, and ended its set while fans were still outside queuing to enter the venue – causing many to miss Kiss Of Life’s performance entirely.
One fan reported that he was still in the queue even when Itzy – the act after Kiss Of Life – started performing.
AGGRESSIVE SECURITY TEAM
According to attendees, one of the reasons for the long queues was due to the aggressive and overly thorough security team – with many claiming that the checks were “more strict than at Changi Airport”.One user wrote: “The aunty I went to patted everyone down way too much till it caused a hold-up in the line.”
An X user, who donned a hijab, claimed that she was told to remove her outerwear by the security team despite her telling them that she couldn’t do so due to the nature of her inner top.
“Can I just say the security team from yesterday [Dec 28] was so rude? I was clearly [a] hijabi and I told her I wasn’t able to remove my outerwear as my inner was a sleeveless top. The aunty insisted on it and I had to insist back that I wasn’t able to. A bit more and I would have fought her.”
Another user also claimed that security team threatened to cut the wristbands of those who did not comply with their instructions.
LONG ADS
Attendees have also taken issue with the long ads played between each artiste’s set, with many saying that the time could have been used to accommodate artistes who had their performances cut short due to the interruptions.One user wrote: “Following the K-pop acts, attendees were subjected to 20 minutes of ads before Lala Hsu’s set, which could have otherwise been used for the K-pop group’s performance. It appeared that the ads’ airtime was more important than the concertgoer’s enjoyment of the full K-pop performance.”
CANCELLED PERFORMANCES AND POOR COMMUNICATION
The problems extended to the second day of Yuewen Music Festival on Dec 29, which saw a shortened performance from Thai singer Nanon and Pentagon members Kino and Wooseok cancelling their performance entirely due to the rain.However, fans claim that these changes were not communicated properly. A quick check on Yuewen Music Festival’s page shows that the only cancellation post on the page was a joint one of Win’s and Nanon’s.
“I came to see Kino and Wooseok perform but instead, I watched them apologise and leave the venue,” wrote one user. “This is absolutely ridiculous and a waste of everyone’s time and money. Give us all a refund.”
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A user wrote: "From 4.55pm to 5.40pm to 6.15pm, and y'all don't even bother to update with a new post. Y'all just edit your captions, expecting people to see?"
Given the litany of complaints surrounding Yuewen Music Festival, many attendees have stated that they will be seeking refunds. The event will hold its third and final day on Tuesday.
CNA Lifestyle has reached out to organisers for comments.
