Mirror tragedy: Hong Kong concert organisers make changes to stage design as private venue owners adopt new government rules on installations

Organisers of upcoming concerts in Hong Kong are making last-minute changes to their stage designs as some private venue owners have decided to follow the government’s tightened rules on installations at public performance sites in the wake of an accident at a show by Canto-pop boy band Mirror last week.

A movable giant screen crashed onto the stage during the concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum last Thursday. The Post confirmed on Wednesday that a third performer was also wounded during the incident, as well as the two dancers who were earlier reported to be injured.

Representatives of Canto-pop singer Tyson Yoshi, 28, who will perform at the Star Hall in the International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kowloon Bay on Friday, said they had to redesign their stage, including removing some installations, after the private venue owner asked them to follow a new set of interim rules imposed by the government that banned the use of movable overhead devices at public performance premises.

“This has affected our planning as we will have to change our stage design a bit to comply with the government’s measure. We are still discussing our changes, but that has definitely increased the workload for everyone,” the singer’s representative said.

“It has always been safety first, but we will have to remove a small amount of installations after the accident last week to prioritise safety even more.”

Another concert organiser, who asked to remain anonymous, said they had to reach out to a different engineering company after the one they had initially hired to sign off on the safety reports for the stage design had refused to do so following the Mirror accident.