International K-pop festival transported to China
International K-pop festival HallyuPopFest will be exported to China this October, following editions in Singapore, Sydney and London.
The China debut will take place on 21 and 22 October at Wynn Palace, a five-star hotel situated in Macau (informally known as the ‘Las Vegas of Asia’).
NCT Dream and SHINee – both South Korean boy bands formed by SM Entertainment – will headline the Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Hyolyn, Sam Kim, Omega X and Nine to Six will also perform on the first day, while Kard, Verivery, Cherry Bullet and H1-Key join Sunday’s lineup.
“This annual K-pop festival has rapidly become a global sensation”
Attendees can expect an on-site Hallyu Town, as well as red carpet and meet & greet events in addition to the concerts, according the festival’s website. At the time of publishing, HallyuPopFest has yet to release ticketing details.
“Music tourism is on the rise around the world, and this annual K-pop festival has rapidly become a global sensation,” says Linda Chen, president and vice chairman of the company behind Wynn Palace.
“By hosting major international music festivals such as these at Wynn Palace, our goal is to put Macau on the map as a top-tier destination for international events.”
HallyuPopFest first debuted in 2018 with a three-day event in Singapore, before returning to the city-state the following year.
The festival has since expanded beyond Asia, and held its first UK and Australian events in London and Sydney in 2022.
HallyuPopFest is the latest festival brand to be transplanted in China after 88rising recently revealed plans to launch Head in the Clouds festival in Guangzhou this September.
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K-pop festival set for Australian debut
International K-pop festival HallyuPopFest is expanding to Australia next month.
Previously held in Singapore in 2018 and 2019, the event is scheduled to make its UK debut at OVO Arena Wembley (cap. 12,500) from 9-10 July, promoted by TEG MJR.
TEG Live is also partnering with the New South Wales government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW and Korea’s HAH Entertainment for HallyuPopFest’s inaugural outing Down Under at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena from 13-14 August. Acts will include P1Harmony, Astro, SF9, Oneus, Everglow, Kep1er, Oh My Girl, Chung Ha, Kai and Chen.
The festival will also include opportunities for Hi-Wave meet and greets, a Red Carpet and “the very best of Hallyu fashion, beauty and culture”.
“Nowhere in Australia is the K-pop revolution more evident than Western Sydney”
“Korean music and culture have become a global phenomenon over the past decade and nowhere in Australia is the K-pop revolution more evident than Western Sydney,” says Stuart Ayres, minister for enterprise, investment and trade for Western Sydney.
“The opportunity to see some of the world’s best K-pop acts and attend meet and greet sessions will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for thousands of fans who will flock to Western Sydney, providing a significant boost to the local visitor economy.”
Last week it was announced that US conference and showcase festival South By Southwest (SXSW) is also expanding to Sydney from 15-22 October 2023.
Meanwhile, Australia’s first music and technology festival, Sound West, will take place in Parramatta from 20-28 August.
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TEG MJR to promote the UK’s first K-pop festival
TEG MJR is to promote the UK’s first-ever K-pop festival, taking place in London this summer.
HallyuPopFest, previously held in Singapore in 2018 and 2019, is scheduled for 9 and 10 July at OVO Arena Wembley (cap. 12,500).
Mamamoo singer Hwasa, girl group Everglow, and boybands Astro and Oneus are among the artists due to perform on the first day of the festival.
While boybands SF9 and Cravity are lined up for day two of the event. More artists are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Aside from the three-hour headline concerts taking place each evening, HallyuPopFest will also include a red carpet event and a HallyuTown marketplace, where ticketholders will be able to experience Korean food and culture.
“We wanted to create a festival experience where K-pop fans from all over could come together and celebrate”
“It will be the UK’s first K-pop festival, as well as HallyuPopFest’s first global landing. It’s an amazing lineup, consisting of a diverse variety of Korean music genres, from pop to rap to adult contemporary to indie artists,” says global promoter TEG MJR chief executive Richard Buck. “There will be something for everyone.”
Selena Ho, chief executive of the Singapore-headquartered HAH Entertainment, which oversees HallyuPopFest operations, adds: “HallyuPopFest came about because we wanted to create a festival experience where K-pop fans from all over, from various fandoms, could come together and celebrate their fervent idol support, boundless energy and love for music and dance that are the cornerstones of K-pop.”
The inaugural HallyuPopFest was held in 2018 in Singapore and returned to the island-state the following year for its second instalment.
Artists that have previously performed at HallyuPopFest include Wanna One, Apink, AOA, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, NCT 127, NU’EST, (G)I-DLE, Monsta X and more.
Today’s news comes after the announcement of Europe’s biggest K-pop festival launching in Germany. The 44,000-capacity Kpop.Flex festival is to take place at Deutsche Bank Park Stadium in Frankfurt between 14–15 May.
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