Casino and hospitality company Wynn Macau was planning to host a spectacular K-pop festival, promising visitors a lot of musical enjoyment. Unfortunately, the event had to be suddenly called off, prompting disgruntlement among fans.
The so-called HallyuPopFest Macau 2023 was set to take place on October 21 and October 22 and welcome some of the biggest K-pop stars in the world. The program included performances from a variety of K-pop celebrities and groups, including Cherry Bullet, H1-Key, Hyolyn, NCT Dream, NINE to SIX, Omega X, Sam Kim, SHINee KARD and Verivery.
Yesterday, however, Wynn Macau announced that the event had been canceled, triggering an immediate response from the unhappy fans. Adding insult to injury, the casino company is yet to provide an explanation for its decision to call the event off.
In addition to the disappointment, many K-pop fans who had already planned journeys to Macau, booking hotels and air tickets, expressed their concern about the cancelation and possible refund arrangements.
Fans Are Outraged
While Wynn Macau did not disclose why it has called off the event, it promised that fans will receive full refunds for their tickets for the event. Despite that, K-pop fans all over the internet noted that not all of the reservations can be refunded.
Fans who have purchased tickets via our official ticketing platform will receive a full refund through the original mode of payment in line with the ticketing platforms procedures. Please contact [email protected] OR www.damai.cn for further refund enquiries.
Wynn Macau statement
Some who have already booked hotels and airplane tickets, for example, will not be able to get their money back. As a result, angry fans warned that they would try to inform Macau’s tourism authorities about the situation.
Wynn Macau later addressed the backlash, confirming that, unfortunately, it would be unable to issue refunds for hotel reservations and airplane tickets.
The concert was one of the highlights of Macau’s tourism program for 2023 and was expected to help the special administrative region recover from the devastating aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus and China’s notorious Zero-COVID policy have caused the region’s tourism and gambling industries to lose billions of dollars.
While Macau is expected to continue its recovery, the cancelation of the HallyuPopFest Macau 2023 will likely be a setback for the region.