HONG KONG – Hong Kong appears to be off to a solid start in its bid to become a top concert destination in Asia, with British rock band Coldplay as the first major international act to perform at the city’s new mega stadium on April 8.
But the jury is still out on whether Hong Kong can rival other established concert venues in the region, such as Australia, Japan and Singapore.
“But if you never try, you’ll never know just what you’re worth,” Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin sang in Fix You, one of the band’s most popular hits, on the first night of the show at Kai Tak Sports Park.
Coldplay is playing four nights in Hong Kong, from April 8 to 12, as part of its Music of the Spheres World Tour. It is the band’s first concert in the city since 2009.
Several fans from abroad said they found the concert experience in Hong Kong comparable with the band’s other performances at top venues elsewhere.
“The concert was great, as good as the ones I’ve caught elsewhere,” an upbeat American Coldplay fan, Mr Shawn Perrin, told The Straits Times outside the stadium after the show.
Mr Perrin was in Hong Kong for three days for the event, his fourth Coldplay concert after attending others in Los Angeles, San Diego and Helsinki.
“It was easy getting here via Uber from our hotel in Wan Chai,” he said, adding that there were many signs directing human traffic and no road congestion despite the crowd.
Another Coldplay fan, David, an insurance professional who wanted to be known only by his first name for privacy reasons, said his “high-quality” experience in Hong Kong rivalled the show he attended in Singapore.
The band has performed four times in Singapore – in January 2024, 2009, 2006 and 2001.
“Both were great concerts full of smash-hit songs, some surprises and wonderful interactions with the crowd and (vocalist) Chris Martin,” David said.
A few others, however, wished the atmosphere had been livelier.
For mainland concertgoer Lindy Lu, who travelled to Hong Kong from neighbouring Shenzhen, the lack of buzz outside the stadium left her “slightly disappointed”.
Some other pop concerts – such as Coldplay’s January act in Abu Dhabi and US singer Taylor Swift’s 2024 show in Singapore – featured zones outside the stadium where fans could interact in singalongs or visit hobby stations and photo booths hours before the performances began.
“It’s also a pity that we didn’t get fireworks due to the stadium’s closed roof,” Ms Lu told ST.
“My friends who were at the Coldplay concerts in Abu Dhabi and Melbourne said the fireworks there were spectacular. I wish there could have been a bigger bang here.”
Several fans from abroad said they found the concert experience in Hong Kong comparable with the band’s other performances at top venues elsewhere. PHOTO: COURTESY OF COEY ZHANG
Coldplay’s 2024 concert in Singapore also did not display fireworks for the same reason.
The Kai Tak stadium, located in the eastern side of Kowloon Bay, opened in March after 17 years in the making. It has a retractable soundproof roof that allows it to host concerts even in inclement weather, as well as prevent loud music from escaping the arena and disturbing residents in the vicinity.
The 50,000-seat facility, which can accommodate twice as many people as the city’s two next-largest concert sites, has raised hopes that Hong Kong can attract mega concerts and other world-class events of high economic value.
Hong Kong’s new 50,000-seat stadium at Kai Tak Sports Park is expected to give the city an edge in its quest to become a top concert hub in Asia.ST PHOTO: MAGDALENE FUNG
“I am optimistic that Hong Kong can be another option apart from Singapore and Tokyo for international organisers to stage their mega events in Asia,” Dr Kenneth Kwong, a marketing professor from The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, told ST.
“The Kai Tak stadium – which is more well-equipped and spacious than the Hong Kong Coliseum (the city’s second-biggest concert site) – will make Hong Kong more attractive to world-class performers, especially those targeting the Chinese audience, given Hong Kong’s close proximity to China,” he added.
“It is costlier and less convenient for mainlanders to travel to other major concert destinations like Tokyo or Singapore.”
Hong Kongers have previously lamented losing out on big acts such as Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga to Singapore.
Hong Kong in recent years has also played second fiddle to nearby Macau in drawing major concerts to the Greater Bay Area. Macau made a concerted effort to boost its non-gaming entertainment sector after the Chinese central government tightened rules in 2022 on the city’s main economic driver, the casino industry.
But with the opening of the Kai Tak stadium, Hong Kong has now attracted a slate of concerts by popular Asian performers, including home-grown singer Nicholas Tse in late April, Taiwanese band Mayday and Singaporean singer JJ Lin in May, and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou in June.
Dr Kwong said Hong Kong still has some way to go before it can gain a firm foothold in the regional mega-concert market.
“If we aim to host more mega events to attract audiences from around the world, the ticketing sales and distribution channels will be a key factor for success,” he said.
“These channels help not only to promote the events, but also to reach the right target audiences. But they are currently too local-focused and may not fully meet the needs of such large and wide international audiences.”
Dr Kwong suggested that local sales channels should strategically seek out partnerships with larger, more international platforms to promote performances of wide mainstream global appeal.
“The purchase and collection of tickets could also be improved,” he said.
Ticketing for the Coldplay concert hit a snag in March when some fans received misprinted tickets – either bought online or collected from kiosks.
As physical tickets were needed for entry, concertgoers, many of them from overseas, were irate about having to go out of their way to exchange their erroneous tickets when they arrived in the city. Dozens of complaints were made to the Consumer Council.
Many other concert destinations worldwide accept digital tickets or self-printed paper tickets.
Hong Kong’s ticketing platform Cityline apologised for the misprints after the city’s tourism chief, Ms Rosanna Law, voiced concern over the issue.
The crowd heading towards Kai Tak stadium for the Coldplay concert in Hong Kong on April 8. ST PHOTO: MAGDALENE FUNG
The Hong Kong authorities pulled out all the stops to ensure smooth running of the Coldplay concerts, after some locals expressed doubts about whether the event could be pulled off without a hitch.
They held multiple stress tests at the venue, ramped up public transport frequency and added new routes, as well as assigned large numbers of security personnel to direct traffic.
Their hard work appears to have paid off for now – public sentiment and online reviews following the first two nights of the concert have been largely positive.
“There has been a lack of high-quality international bands coming to Hong Kong in recent years,” said David, the concertgoer. “Hopefully this is the start of more international acts and events coming to the city.”
- Magdalene Fung is The Straits Times’ Hong Kong correspondent. She is a Singaporean who has spent about a decade living and working in Hong Kong.
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