Plans to stage multi-day London K-pop festival
An application has been submitted to stage a two-day K-pop festival in North West London.
Magic Sound is bidding to hold the 15,000-cap Made in Korea (MIK) 2025 at Northwick Park, Brent, from 7-8 June.
MIK debuted in 2022 at Southwark Park in South East London with a lineup including Red Velvet, Suho, Pentagon, Viviz, Chung Ha, Golden Child, Cherry Bullet and Billlie, and also featured a day dedicated to hip-hop.
In its submission to Brent Council, Magic Sound, which notes it has also promoted events in London at venues such as The O2 and OVO Arena Wembley, says that MIK “will consist of a single concert stage showcasing Korean Pop and Chinese Pop acts of international recognition”.
“The London Borough of Brent (LBB), and specifically Northwick Park, have been chosen by the organisers due to the borough’s diverse population and access to public transport, walking and cycling facilities,” states Magic Sound’s application. “MIK 2025 will provide a youth-led boost to Brent’s local economy.”
A new report has projected the global K-pop events market will be worth $20 billion by 2031
A public consultation on the event is open until 14 January, with the application then set to go before Brent Council’s alcohol and entertainment licensing sub-committee at a later date.
A French edition of MIK was held at Paris’ Accor Arena in February 2023, but a planned UK sequel was cancelled later that year amid issues with ticket sales and rising costs.
Meanwhile, a new report has projected the global K-pop events market – valued at US$8.1 billion (€7.9bn) in 2021 – will reach $20bn (€19bn) by 2031.
The study, published by Allied Market Research, states: “The K-pop events market is expanding as a result of the economy’s improvement and the rise in disposable income.
“The recent decline in recorded music sales has increased demand for live music performances, which has greatly aided the expansion of the worldwide music event sector such as K-pop events. Also, the rise in music tourism activities among spectators and artists has fuelled the expansion of the K-pop event industry.”
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Made In Korea festival to launch in Paris next year
Made In Korea festival will be exported to the Accor Arena (cap. 20,300) in Paris on 18 and 19 February 2023, following a successful edition in London this summer.
Organisers today unveiled phase one of the lineup, which includes K-pop soloists CL and Chung Ha, along with groups like BtoB, Pentagon, Kard and Cherry Bullet.
Other confirmations include Korean rappers Kid Milli, Giriboy, Han Yo-han and Jjangyou, as well as DJ Dnopf and DJ Apro. The second and third phases of the Paris bill will be announced at a later date.
The most recent Made In Korea festival was held in London’s Southwark Park in July and was hailed as Europe’s biggest outdoor K-pop festival.
The most recent Made In Korea festival was held in London’s Southwark Park in July
The two-day event comprised a K-pop day featuring performances by Chung Ha, Cherry Bullet, Red Velvet, VIVIZ and more, along with a second hip-hop day, which included acts like Jay Park and Jessi.
Alongside music, the £168 ticket price also included non-music activities and events revolving around Korean fashion, lifestyle, culture, street food and more.
Made In Korea is one of a raft of new K-pop festivals that have launched in Europe in the last year, including K-pop.Flex which debuted in Frankfurt this year and Singapore’s HallyuPopFest which was transported to London’s OVO Wembley Arena in July.
K-pop.Flex, touted as Europe’s largest K-pop festival, will debut next September at London’s The O2. The venue’s VP and general manager Steve Sayer recently spoke to IQ about launching the festival, as well as Blackpink’s recent headline shows at the venue.
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