No spring in Beijing's step as police cancel rock concerts, pub crawls 'over political risks'
Police restrictions come after fatal New Year's Eve crush in Shanghai, but event organisers believe officials wary of allowing big public gatherings
Springtime in Beijing usually brings out bustling crowds for rock concerts, food festivals and other outdoor revelry amid the smog and catkins.
But this year police in the capital have been cancelling everything from an Earth Day event to a heavy metal concert, stoking worries that the authorities are cracking down on any large gathering deemed politically risky.
The cancellations have hit the city’s music scene, with annual summer mainstays such as the Strawberry Music Festival going dark.
Police also recently shut down the Gaymazing Poker Race, a mix of pub crawl and poker tournament that was set to raise funds last week for the Beijing LGBT Centre, a gay and lesbian service and cultural group.
The race’s co-sponsor, the Great Leap Brewing pub, responded by preemptively cancelling its own massive June craft beer festival for fear of a last-minute police shutdown.
Lucia Wang, of Great Leap, said city authorities cited concerns about excessive crowds, while John Shen, a program manager at the LGBT centre, said he was given no explanation at all.