HONG KONG (CelebrityAccess) — Live Nation announced that the latest expansion to their Rolling Loud festival brand – Rolling Loud Hong Kong – has been canceled just days before it was set to launch due to ongoing unrest in the city.
In a post to their social media, the Rolling Loud team wrote: “We are saddened to announce that Rolling Loud Hong Kong, which was scheduled to occur on October 19th and 20th at Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District, is being cancelled.”
“After consulting with security experts, it has been determined that it is not possible to organize [sic] the upcoming Rolling Loud Hong Kong edition as we had hoped without endangering the safety and well-being of our fans, artists, and staff.”
“While we regret having to cancel the festival, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly and we look forward to bringing the Rolling Loud festival experience to Hong Kong in the future.”
The festival, which was officially announced in July, would have been the first major hip hop festival to take place in Hong Kong and featured a lineup that included Wiz Khalifa, Migos, Playboi Carti and Ski Mask the Slump God.
However, Hong Kong has been riven by pro-democracy protests since June, when millions of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest an updated extradition treaty with China, which took over administration of the region after the British left in 1997.
Since then, the scope of the protests has expanded with demonstrators calling for democratic reforms. While the size of the protests has dwindled in recent weeks, they have become more violent amid an apparent police crackdown.
The cancellation of Rolling Loud may be a harbinger for other events in the market. Live Nation recently announced that the Hong Kong expansion of the Creamfields dance music festival was relocating to the Art Park in Kowloon when it takes place at the end of December. As of now, the event is still a go.
