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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