K-pop extravaganza in Singapore cancelled

The Nov 16 MBC Korean Music Wave, touted as the biggest K-pop concert to be held in Singapore, has been cancelled.

On the website and Facebook page for the event, concert organiser Fatfish Entertainment said it was pulling the plug "due to unforeseen circumstances including contractual difficulties with our co-producer, MBC".

MBC stands for Korean broadcaster giant Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.

The concert, said to cost around $2.5 million to produce, was scheduled to have 13 South Korean pop acts performing at Gardens By The Bay, including EXO, 2PM, Sistar, Kara, Shinee, FT Island and B.A.P.

The online post also said: "This is an unexpected turn of events and we are ascertaining how this cancellation will affect our financial position. We are currently seeking professional advice to see how we can best refund our ticket holders and other creditors."

The tickets were going for as much as $688.

The leader of K-pop group EXO's local fanbase EXO Fan Club Singapore, who wants to be known only as Angie, said she had spent $300 on 1,000 concert banners. "Now, that is all gone to waste, on top of my wasted concert ticket," she said.

Fatfish had earlier riled fans when it asked them to give food gifts and donate to the transportation cost of the artists here. Last Thursday, it apologised to fans and said the artists and MBC had nothing to do with the requests.

This is not the first big-scale concert to be cancelled in recent months. In September, concert organiser Retfar Entertainment (Singapore) cancelled the 1 World Music Festival just two days before it was due to start.

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