‘Going to Hong Kong before everyone’: mainland China music fans raring to see shows in city such as Blackpink concert, upon border reopening
- Demand driving up prices, with scalpers on Chinese flea market app hawking tickets for more than double original price
- Three years of pandemic shutdown in country has meant enthusiasts on mainland have been starved of large shows and events
Music fans in mainland China are raring to visit Hong Kong for concerts and festivals upon the reopening of the border, with some willing to pay sky-high prices for tickets after being deprived of large events in the past three years amid tight Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
South Korean girl group Blackpink, who will be performing three shows in the city this month, has drawn eager fans from the mainland for their concert, causing resellers to inflate ticket prices to as high as 22,000 yuan (HK$25,000).
On Alibaba’s digital flea market Xianyu, a search for “Hong Kong Blackpink concert” yielded more than 50 results, with resellers quoting prices twice the original cost. Many urged fans to snag tickets before prices rose further.
“No need for quarantine after borders reopen on January 8, if you don’t buy now the prices will only shoot up … I am down to the last two tickets,” wrote one seller. One HK$799 category ticket was going for 2,000 yuan.
Another scalper on Xianyu was asking for 22,000 yuan for a seat on the 13th row from the stage. The VIP ticket, originally sold at HK$2,999, includes access to the group’s pre-show rehearsal and other benefits.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki on Sunday said the Hong Kong government would strive to restore quarantine-free, cross-border travel with the mainland from January 8. Central authorities will also resume issuing tourist and business visas for Chinese nationals to enter Hong Kong. However, authorities have not laid out details of the border reopening.
A Blackpink fan from the mainland, who only gave her name as Rosa, said she had just bought tickets from a reseller for the January 15 show, paying 3,500 yuan for a category HK$2,999 ticket. She will be flying from Sichuan to Hong Kong with her two friends to catch the concert, and has already booked plane tickets and hotel rooms.
“I’ve been a fan for four years and I really want to see them. Previously, I didn’t think that the border would reopen so soon but once they announced it, ticket prices were bound to go up,” she said.
Sarah, a Blackpink fan from Chongqing, said she was still scouring for tickets within her budget, but was afraid of getting scammed by online resellers. The fresh graduate has made arrangements to renew her exit-entry permit which had expired.
“I have not watched them live before so I am willing to pay up to twice the original price. But I will prioritise buying from resellers who can meet up and deal in Chongqing to be safe,” she said.
Users on social media site Weibo started putting up posts in late December following rumours of the border reopening, looking for tickets and fellow fans heading to Hong Kong to catch the Blackpink concert together.
“Of course, I am worried about not being able to enter Hong Kong. I heard there might be a quota on the number of arrivals, but I am not sure,” Rosa said.
Popular annual music festival Clockenflap, suspended for four years due to the 2019 anti-government protests and the pandemic, is also drawing mainlanders such as Shailene Wei, 22, to the city.
Wei, who works in advertising, is planning to time her visit with the festival, which will return from March 3 to 5. It will be her third trip to Hong Kong since 2016, and she is also intending to visit friends in the city.
“There are artists that I really want to see like Arctic Monkeys and Men I Trust. It’s the perfect time to watch the artists I love,” she said. This will be Wei’s first concert since returning to Shanghai from Australia in August 2022 after graduating from university.
But she is still waiting for more details on border-reopening arrangements before making concrete plans.
“The agent said I should wait until January 8 to see if tourist visas will go back to normal,” she said. “I just have a vague idea [of the measures at the moment]. I will immediately book tickets after more details are out. I want to go [to Hong Kong] before everyone else does.”
Other acts popular with mainland audiences include local crooner Eason Chan Yik-shun, who is performing at the Hong Kong Coliseum on January 8, 10, 11, 13 and 15.
Ticketing agents on Xianyu are also luring fans for coming shows by Mandopop sensations JJ Lin and Jay Chou, who will be holding concerts in Hong Kong in March and August respectively.
Additional reporting by Rachel Yeo
