Hong Kong is slowly coming back to life. Tourists started pouring in as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, rugby sevens and Clockenflap returned after a long absence and giant inflatable ducks were once again spotted bobbing up and down Victoria Harbour.
Certainly, all positive signs point to business as usual in Asia’s world city. However, despite the authorities’ best efforts to convince everyone that Hong Kong has returned, one prominent group does not appear to have received the memo and appears to be giving the city a wide berth in 2023: Western pop stars.
Only one of the five international pop superstars — Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Harry Styles, Lewis Capaldi and Sam Smith — sweeping Asia this year Smith) appeared in Hong Kong. All five perform in Asian hubs such as Singapore (where Swift and Coldplay each play six concerts), Tokyo and Jakarta. Hong Kong, however, is notable for its absence from the tour schedule.
The buzz on social media has been blaming everything from national security laws to Swift’s sensitive year of birth in 1989, but the truth, according to industry insiders, is far less exciting. They said the artists weren’t coming either because of a lack of suitable venues or because the tour was planned while Hong Kong was still under COVID-19 restrictions and therefore couldn’t commit to local dates.
Both Swift and Coldplay have performed at the Asia International Stadium before (in 2011 and 2009, respectively), but their current tours are both purpose-built for the stadium, requiring a stage that extends into the auditorium. This explains, for example, why Coldplay’s only show in Taiwan was held in Kaohsiung (at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium) and not in Taipei, which lacks large stadiums for concerts.
The largest stadium in Hong Kong is the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium, home to rugby sevens, but since the mid-90s it has been closed since the mid-1990s after residents complained of noise from bands such as Bon Jovi (1993). There hasn’t been any pop concerts since the mid-90s. and Jean-Michel Jarre (1994). Famously, a show proposed by Michael Jackson in 1997 failed to win approval, despite organizers promising to provide the audience with gloves (of course) to dampen the applause.
Hong Kong is likely to be on the international stadium tourism agenda when Kai Tak Sports Park and its 50,000-seat retractable-roof stadium are completed within the next 18 months, industry insiders say.
As for Styles (who appeared on Asia’s international scene in 2015 with his former boy band One Direction) and Capaldi, tours are either planned with Hong Kong’s Covid-19 restrictions seeing no end, or at Hong Kong’s biggest music venue The venue (located at the Asia International Stadium (with a capacity of 14,000) is not big enough for these touring shows.
Don’t forget that the last covid-19 restrictions in Hong Kong were only lifted about four months ago. Logistical feasibility is one of the main factors considered when planning a tour schedule, with logistics companies requiring up to six months of lead time to ship an artist’s shipment. When those tours were finalized, Hong Kong was still in place with social distancing measures and mask-wearing rules, so it’s understandable that labels wouldn’t want to take risks on local shows.
So why are we getting K-pop giants like Blackpink and Aespa? The answer, according to one insider, is simple: Their management believes the venue on offer is suitable for these concerts. For example, Blackpink held three sold-out shows at the Asia International Arena earlier this year, performing to a total of 42,000 spectators.
But even many K-pop artists have given up on Hong Kong, with artists such as TWICE, Jackson Wang, Stray Kids and The Boyz excluding Hong Kong from their 2023 Asian tour schedules.
Any mournful Swift or style-hungry conductor can console themselves with the feeling we’ve all had for decades when major international acts rarely visited Hong Kong. The city only became a fixture on global tours after digital distribution and streaming upended the music industry, which was forced to explore live concerts in underdeveloped markets. Before you know it, Hong Kong will likely be reclaiming its place on the tour.
Correction 18:00: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that K-pop star Taeyeon and Super Junior D&E would not appear in Hong Kong in 2023. We regret this error.
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