As Singapore gears up for 6 Coldplay shows, Malaysians lament hardline opposition to UK band
British rock band Coldplay will become the first-ever act to play for six nights at Singapore's National Stadium, as overwhelming demand for tickets for next January's shows compelled organisers to add two additional dates.
Concert promoter Live Nation said at midday on Tuesday that tickets for all six shows - including two dates added at the last moment - were sold out just 24 hours after presales opened. Some 200,000 tickets were sold for the first four concerts between January 23 and 27.
Organisers did not immediately confirm the total number of tickets sold following the decision to add two gigs on January 30 and 31, but hinted at the possibility of more ticket releases.
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The extended run is a major shot in the arm for the island republic's 55,000-seater National Stadium - which last year was taken over by the government from private ownership amid criticism of being a white elephant unable to attract top-tier events.
The stadium, part of the sprawling Singapore Sports Hub, is also slated to host five of Europe's biggest football teams including Liverpool FC and Bayern Munich in July as part of a weeklong football festival.
In neighbouring Malaysia, where Coldplay will perform just one show - despite intense fan clamour for more dates - social media commenters lamented agitation by Islamic conservatives over the hosting of concerts that they said might have turned off the five-piece band led by Chris Martin.
The concert was the talk of social media in Singapore, with a mix of rants from fans who failed to buy tickets, memes about Coldplay's "permanent residency" in the country and posts of elation from those who will watch the band live next January.
The tickets were available for purchase online as well as by phone and in person at post office branches.
On TikTok and Reddit, some posted play-by-play instructions on how to succeed in securing tickets online, where some 1 million virtual queue numbers were issued. "Don't panic!" one commenter wrote, should the screen momentarily freeze when it is your turn to pick your tickets.
Frustration with the virtual queue also translated into memes. "When your queue number is more than 1 million and you end up seeing a blank page, 403 page, get kicked out, have to queue again and then see no more seats left," read one such gag by Instagrammer Yeolo.
Reaction to the Coldplay bonanza in Singapore was not as lighthearted in neighbouring Malaysia, where tickets for the sole concert to be held on November 22 were snapped up within three hours on May 16.
The hardline Islamist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, one of the ruling administration's more formidable opponents, had suggested that hosting the likes of Coldplay was indicative of the government's intent to "nurture a culture of hedonism and perversion".
On Tuesday, the country's Arts, Life Events and Festivals Association said such sentiment was likely the reason why there was only one show in Malaysia.
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, leader of the youth-centric Muda party, lamented how having even just one concert in Malaysia had proved to be problematic.
"While we're over here arguing over Malaysia hosting concerts, countries out there are grabbing golden chances to generate economic surplus," he wrote.
Apart from shows in Singapore and Malaysia, the Asia-Pacific leg of Coldplay's ongoing Music of the Spheres World Tour includes gigs in Bangkok, Manila, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Perth and Jakarta.
Since Singapore returned to normalcy following the Covid-19 pandemic, concertgoers in the republic have been spoiled for choice, with artists choosing to stage gigs there due to its high air connectivity and quality of venues.
In recent months, tickets for concerts by Hong Kong's "Heavenly Kings" Aaron Kwok and Jacky Cheung, as well as gigs by Irish band Westlife, K-pop girl group Blackpink, South Korean star Suga of BTS and Taiwanese diva A-mei, sold out soon after they were released for sale.
Leung Sau Yee, a senior lecturer in digital marketing and branding at Singapore's Polytechnic School of Business, was quoted in The Straits Times as saying that the high demand for concerts in the post-pandemic era could be down to a mindset of "missing out on certain experiences and not being sure if they can experience it again".
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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