MANILA, Philippines - The much-anticipated ASEAN Music Festival on Tuesday, November 15 at the Ayala Triangle in Makati was cancelled due to unforeseen massive crowd of concertgoers. The organizers decided to cut short the event after the security had troubles controlling the ‘sea of people.’
In a free concert event that was supposed to bring together artists from the country and all over Southeast Asia in time for the Philippine hosting of ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, everyone left the music festival disappointed.
Shortly after the first act by Parokya ni Edgar, the organizers decided to halt the event. The crowd had already filled the venue to the brim and was also starting to get rowdy. Security concerns rose after the guards can no longer control the huge crowd.
A certain Yen Hugo Mirto shared via ASEAN Music Festival event page: “We get it that the concert is free. Pero sana naman there are ushers or event organizers looking after the queue to ensure fairness sa mga early bird and maaga pumila. 5pm kami pumila sa original line pero sa bandang u-turn ng pila may another line na originally wala talaga to begin with kasi nauna kami and maaga kami. Other than that yung mga sumisingit na mga grupo at yung mga nagsitakbuhan na wala sa pila pero nakapasok na. Very disappointing lang talaga di kami naprioritize and hindi kami nakapasok.”
Netizen @dolcebangtan said: "this asean music festival is a mess. so many people passed out and the show is cancelled."
The local artists have also shared their disappointment to the failed event. Raymond Marasigan, who was supposed to follow the first act by Parokya ni Edgar tweeted his observation:
The Parokya ni Edgar frontman, Chito Miranda also tweeted that the organizers might have underestimated the expected crowd.
The ASEAN Music Festival was hyped on social media as a free concert event that also includes acts from local bands Franco, Silent Sanctuary, Sandwich, The Ransom Collective and Ben&Ben.
It also brought in acts from Myanmar pop star Eint Chit, Cambodian duo Nimith & Sophea, Malaysian avant-garde ensemble Nading Rhapsody, Brunei rock band D'Hask, Indonesian singer Mia Ismi Halida, Laotian act Sack Cells, Thai folk-jazz group Asia 7 and Vietnamese musician Tran Thieu Anh Tuan.
The event attracted an estimate of 15,000 concertgoers that night.
— Sally, The Summit Express
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| Concertgoers flocked in the ASEAN Music Festival. Photo Credit: Twitter/Alfonso Miranda Jr. |
Shortly after the first act by Parokya ni Edgar, the organizers decided to halt the event. The crowd had already filled the venue to the brim and was also starting to get rowdy. Security concerns rose after the guards can no longer control the huge crowd.
The national organizing committee said in a statement: “For reasons of public safety, we have stopped the show. People are leaving to go home. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
A certain Yen Hugo Mirto shared via ASEAN Music Festival event page: “We get it that the concert is free. Pero sana naman there are ushers or event organizers looking after the queue to ensure fairness sa mga early bird and maaga pumila. 5pm kami pumila sa original line pero sa bandang u-turn ng pila may another line na originally wala talaga to begin with kasi nauna kami and maaga kami. Other than that yung mga sumisingit na mga grupo at yung mga nagsitakbuhan na wala sa pila pero nakapasok na. Very disappointing lang talaga di kami naprioritize and hindi kami nakapasok.”
Netizen @dolcebangtan said: "this asean music festival is a mess. so many people passed out and the show is cancelled."
The local artists have also shared their disappointment to the failed event. Raymond Marasigan, who was supposed to follow the first act by Parokya ni Edgar tweeted his observation:
the show is stalled because people are standing on seats.— Raymund Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) November 14, 2017
IMHO monoblocks in shows with rock bands dont usually go well together 😳😂😎
The Parokya ni Edgar frontman, Chito Miranda also tweeted that the organizers might have underestimated the expected crowd.
Sana nextym hindi na ma- underestimate kung gaano kabuhay ang local music scene. Di daw kasi nila ine-expect na ganun kadami ang pupunta kaya di nila napaghandaan ng maayos. Buti nalang walang major injuries. May this serve as a lesson na maging mas handa nextym.😊 Long live OPM! pic.twitter.com/WjS4V4R8JR— Alfonso Miranda Jr (@chitomirandajr) November 14, 2017
The ASEAN Music Festival was hyped on social media as a free concert event that also includes acts from local bands Franco, Silent Sanctuary, Sandwich, The Ransom Collective and Ben&Ben.
It also brought in acts from Myanmar pop star Eint Chit, Cambodian duo Nimith & Sophea, Malaysian avant-garde ensemble Nading Rhapsody, Brunei rock band D'Hask, Indonesian singer Mia Ismi Halida, Laotian act Sack Cells, Thai folk-jazz group Asia 7 and Vietnamese musician Tran Thieu Anh Tuan.
The event attracted an estimate of 15,000 concertgoers that night.
— Sally, The Summit Express
