Warning: This article contains embedded video that some readers may find disturbing.
A series of concerts by Hong Kong boy band Mirror has been canceled following a serious crash on Thursday night in which two performers were injured after being hit by a giant LED video screen that fell from the ceiling.
The shocking incident (below) was caught on video and the footage has gone viral.
The two injured performers were dancers from the 12-member boy band Mirror, who were participating in a concert series called “MIRROR.WEARE” at the Coliseum, a frequent concert venue that has become known as the Mecca of the city’s canto-pop industry. The concert series, which began on July 25, was supposed to include a total of 12 concerts until August 5. It was the debut of the Canto-pop singing sensation at the Coliseum.
The incident happened during a group performance when a giant LED video screen suspended above the stage fell and hit two dancers who were standing directly below. They were knocked to the ground and appeared to be unconscious while the rest of the crew were stunned. The two performers were rushed to hospital. One is reported to have suffered a head injury but is in stable condition; the other suffered a neck injury and is reportedly in serious condition.
#BREAKING: A horrific incident erupted as a Hong Kong singing and dancing boy band hosted its first concert, injuring at least two dancers. Both were said to be conscious when they were sent to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/y3c7MVyUmn
— Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) July 28, 2022
The concert was immediately halted and the audience asked to leave the venue, but were told they could keep their tickets until further notice. Many who witnessed the incident live at the concert or watched the video circulating on social media said they were emotionally disturbed by the incident.
“I’ve never felt so terrible going to a concert. Walking out of the Coliseum felt like walking out of a funeral home. It was dark, nobody was talking,” an audience member who witnessed the incident told Variety. “Some other girls in the audience were crying. Another friend who is a mother asked why such a horrible, unacceptable incident could happen in Hong Kong, at the Coliseum.
The incident sparked a public outcry, with fans and industry insiders accusing the concert organizers of not allowing enough time for site inspection and rehearsal and neglecting the safety of the performers.
The Hong Kong government has suspended further concerts at the hall until the stage design and mechanical structures are proven to be safe.
Concert promoters Music Nation and MakerVille, both subsidiaries of Hong Kong telecommunications giant PCCW, subsequently announced at 2am on Friday morning local time that the remaining eight shows of the concert series had been cancelled. They said in a statement that they regretted the incident and expressed concern for the two injured performers, saying they would extend support to the victims. The companies also promised to investigate the cause of the incident.
Mirror, formed in 2018 and consisting of 12 male singers, emerged from ‘King Maker’, a reality TV show hosted by PCCW’s ViuTV. The group rose to superstardom in Hong Kong during the COVID pandemic. Some of the group’s members, including Keung To, Anson Lo and Edan Lui, have become some of the city’s fastest-rising stars in music, television and film, and the group has also become a favorite of advertisers due to its huge fan base.
Criticism of the organization of the concert series, however, did not stop from its very beginning.
Just before the series of shows began, a dancer was injured during a rehearsal. On the second night, Mirror member Frankie Chan fell off the stage during a performance. Many audience members who attended the first two performances questioned the safety measures on stage.
It was then revealed that the performers were only given two days to rehearse before the start of the concert series. Industry heavyweight Aaron Kwok, an actor and Canto-pop star best known for his dance performances on stage, spoke and said that two days is not enough to prepare for a concert. Kwok said he needed at least three to four days to rehearse at the location, and had previously practiced at another location with a stage cue.
The safety row has been raging all week, with more than 13,000 signing a Change.org petition demanding concert organizers dismantle the dangerous mechanical structures on stage and provide a safe stage for performers to sing and dance.
“It is very wrong [that] even before this incident the audience [was pleading] with organizers putting safety first on the list and [requesting that they] canceled some stage arrangements so the boys could play on a secure basis,” fan Shirley Chan, who had bought two tickets to the weekend’s show, told the Mirror.
Concerned fans questioned whether two of the production companies, Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company Ltd and Art Design & Production Ltd, should be held responsible for the serious accident. But an entertainment industry insider familiar with the concert production told Variety that these companies use local industry veterans and the incident is rare. The problem, they say, is the lack of crucial rehearsal time, which may have exposed the technical flaws.
“The organizers did not give the crew and performers enough time to prepare and rehearse,” said the insider, who declined to be named. “All problems on stage are discovered and solved during rehearsal. But it seems that not enough time has been devoted to this.
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