Hong Kong’s biggest music festival Clockenflap cancelled after protests escalate
- Clockenflap festival set to host Halsey, Babymetal and Mumford and Sons becomes latest to be scrapped ‘due to the escalation of the crisis this week’
- Ticket-holders will receive full refunds, organiser Magnetic Asia confirms
Hong Kong’s biggest annual music and arts festival has been cancelled after the escalation of the anti-government protests that have shaken the city for almost six months, organisers announced on Friday.
However, after a week that saw Hong Kong rocked by daily protests across most of the city’s districts, festival organiser Magnetic Asia finally pulled the plug on Friday night.
“Due to the escalation of the crisis this week, and therefore the uncertainty this creates for the coming weeks, Clockenflap 2019 will be cancelled,” the organisers said in a statement. “Until this week we were fully committed to delivering the festival. Unfortunately, the situation has now made this impossible.”
American singer-songwriter Halsey, controversial US rapper Lil Pump, British band Mumford & Sons and cute Japanese headbangers Babymetal were all set to play the festival.
“While it pains every one of us at Magnetic Asia to cancel Clockenflap 2019, we still believe in bringing people together in positive ways, and will continue to unite people through the power of music and arts,” the statement added.
Magnetic Asia said full refunds would be offered for this year’s festival.
The move comes two weeks after the organisers said the mass cancellations of other events and apparent lack of confidence in Hong Kong had reinforced their determination to push on with this year’s festival.
“That is precisely why we feel it is so important for Clockenflap to happen this year, more than ever, and to bring people together in kinship and collective creative inspiration,” Justin Sweeting, co-founder and music director of Clockenflap organiser Magnetic Asia, told the Post towards the end of October.
Despite the organisers’ hands being forced by this week’s escalating chaos across Hong Kong, Clockenflap fans appear to have taken the cancellation in their stride, and comments on the festival’s Facebook page were overwhelmingly supportive of the decision.
“Thank you guys so much for putting in all the work and trying against all odds to plough through anyway,” one Clockenflap follower posted. “All respect for making such a tough decision. Looking forward to next year.”
In total, Clockenflap 2019 planned to present more than 100 international, regional and local acts spread across six stages over the three days.
What is now Hong Kong’s biggest annual music festival launched with a small-scale event at Cyberport in 2008 that attracted around 1,500 people. The festival witnessed unprecedented growth after it moved to West Kowloon Cultural District in 2011 and expanded to three days.
Clockenflap has now been staged along the Central Harbourfront since 2016 and last year attracted around 40,000 punters on each of its three days.
