Fans upset over promoter's failure to get OK to reschedule Andy Lau concerts

HONG KONG - One fan from Singapore revealed that she had paid 2½ times the original price of an Andy Lau concert ticket, only to be disappointed when the gig - part of a 20-show series in Hong Kong - was cancelled because of his flu.

Lau had said he hoped to reschedule the gigs, but the fan said she was let down once again after the authorities rejected a bid by promoter Focus Entertainment to hold them in December this year.

"There are more than 80,000 fans who are affected by this cancellation, including me, who flew all the way from Singapore," Ms Jomel Ng posted online.

"Focus should not just write a statement that the application has been rejected and seek our understanding, without providing any justification."

Fans such as Ms Ng, who had bought tickets from scalpers, were rooting for shows to be rescheduled since they would get only the face value of the tickets during refunds.

Last Friday (Jan 18), the South China Morning Post reported that Focus, which is behind the My Love Andy Lau World Tour In Hong Kong 2018, said the 80,000 ticket-holders would get a refund.

It added that it had applied to reschedule the shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum in December 2019 - the earliest slots available to Lau - but was not successful.

It did not say why its application was turned down.

The concert series was originally slated for between Dec 15 and Jan 3, forming the first leg of Lau's world tour - his first in eight years.

On Dec 28, Lau, 57, was forced to abandon his performance in the middle of the 14th show in the series because of throat inflammation.

"The doctor said I shouldn't sing any more, but I really can't bear to let go," he had apologised to the audience then in a hoarse voice.

The organiser later announced that it was cancelling the remaining shows because Lau was struggling to recover from the flu.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.